ICU Survival Manual for the Caregiver
After my dad's recent stay in the ICU, I have decided that maybe I should note a few things about visiting the ICU.
When you are a family caregiver you tend to get to know the local hospital, particularly the ICU, but it can still be an intimidating place. Some things to keep in mind when visiting the ICU include:
Questions: It's okay to ask questions and even to ask for the answers to be repeated. You are under a lot of stress and that makes it difficult to remember thing you have been told. One idea is to keep a notebook and write down what you are told in it, that way you can refer to what it says when you want to explain to someone else later on what the doctor or nurse said.
Touching: You can find out from the nurse on duty for your loved one if touching might interfere with rest or care, but as a general rule touching is a comfort that can help your loved one feel more at ease with being in the ICU.
Visiting: Hospitals have set visiting hours for people to come and spend time with their loved one, however, it is not always in the best interest of the patient to stay for as long as possible. Both you and your loved one need to get rest and eat properly, something that is not easily done when you are constantly at the hospital. Some hospitals have areas where family can stretch out on small couches to stay close to their loved one without spending all their time in the room - a wonderful and greatly appreciated service for those who like me get migraines when they have to leave the immediate vicinity of someone in the hospital.
Personal Items: You should check with the nurse before you bring anything into the ICU, but if it is permitted then familiar things such as photographs, a robe, slippers, or in the case of a child a favorite stuffed animal, can be very comforting to someone that is staying in the ICU for an extended period.
Notebook: I've seen it recommended that you should get a divided notebook that is small enough to carry with you. I carry writing materials as a standard since I do so much writing, but it is a good thing for anyone that is dealing with doctors to get into the habit of keeping a notebook on their loved one. The notebook should be separated it into at least three sections. Keep the following information in the notebook:
Section one:
Hospital workers involved in the care of your loved one.
Contact information of the people that you need to keep appraised of what is going on. Even familiar numbers can be forgotten when you are under stress.
Section two:
Questions you have for the doctor or nurses.
Section Three:
Things that you need to remember to do when you take your loved one home.
Ideally you will have a five section notebook - and if so the final sections will be:
Section four:
Journal - keeping a journal of what is happening can be a great way to keep yourself focused and help you to cope with what is happening.
Section five:
Misc. This is for anything that you need to use it for - lists of what you want to buy on the way home from the hospital, recipes you like written out of those five year old waiting room magazines, a place for others to write things down that they want to keep track of, pages for kids to doodle on, pages that can be torn out to leave contact information with the ICU desk, etc…
Ideally your notebook will have pockets as well, where you can tuck any paperwork that you might be given by the doctors or nurses.
When you are a family caregiver you tend to get to know the local hospital, particularly the ICU, but it can still be an intimidating place. Some things to keep in mind when visiting the ICU include:
Questions: It's okay to ask questions and even to ask for the answers to be repeated. You are under a lot of stress and that makes it difficult to remember thing you have been told. One idea is to keep a notebook and write down what you are told in it, that way you can refer to what it says when you want to explain to someone else later on what the doctor or nurse said.
Touching: You can find out from the nurse on duty for your loved one if touching might interfere with rest or care, but as a general rule touching is a comfort that can help your loved one feel more at ease with being in the ICU.
Visiting: Hospitals have set visiting hours for people to come and spend time with their loved one, however, it is not always in the best interest of the patient to stay for as long as possible. Both you and your loved one need to get rest and eat properly, something that is not easily done when you are constantly at the hospital. Some hospitals have areas where family can stretch out on small couches to stay close to their loved one without spending all their time in the room - a wonderful and greatly appreciated service for those who like me get migraines when they have to leave the immediate vicinity of someone in the hospital.
Personal Items: You should check with the nurse before you bring anything into the ICU, but if it is permitted then familiar things such as photographs, a robe, slippers, or in the case of a child a favorite stuffed animal, can be very comforting to someone that is staying in the ICU for an extended period.
Notebook: I've seen it recommended that you should get a divided notebook that is small enough to carry with you. I carry writing materials as a standard since I do so much writing, but it is a good thing for anyone that is dealing with doctors to get into the habit of keeping a notebook on their loved one. The notebook should be separated it into at least three sections. Keep the following information in the notebook:
Section one:
Hospital workers involved in the care of your loved one.
Contact information of the people that you need to keep appraised of what is going on. Even familiar numbers can be forgotten when you are under stress.
Section two:
Questions you have for the doctor or nurses.
Section Three:
Things that you need to remember to do when you take your loved one home.
Ideally you will have a five section notebook - and if so the final sections will be:
Section four:
Journal - keeping a journal of what is happening can be a great way to keep yourself focused and help you to cope with what is happening.
Section five:
Misc. This is for anything that you need to use it for - lists of what you want to buy on the way home from the hospital, recipes you like written out of those five year old waiting room magazines, a place for others to write things down that they want to keep track of, pages for kids to doodle on, pages that can be torn out to leave contact information with the ICU desk, etc…
Ideally your notebook will have pockets as well, where you can tuck any paperwork that you might be given by the doctors or nurses.
posted by Sandra at 1:40 PM
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