An exploration of the nature of nursing practice related to the presence of visitors in the critical care setting

TL;DRAbstract

The need for and importance of visiting hours for relatives of critically ill patients has been well documented and passionately debated in the nursing literature for many years. Nurses tend to be the primary gatekeepers in the ICU yet little empirical knowledge exists related to the phenomenon of visiting from the perspective of the bedside nurse. A three-phase qualitative research investigation was undertaken with eight critical care nurses identified by managers as being experts at working with families. Data were gathered using participant observation, interviews and document review. Three research questions guided this investigation: (1) How do expert nurses incorporate visitors into their daily practice? (2) What range of strategies do expert nurses actually use, with whom and with what perceived degree of effectiveness? and (3) How did these nurses gain their knowledge about working with visitors? Findings indicated that patients were the nurse's top priority. Families were view

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper