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Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses

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Should Family Members Have the Option to Be Present During Resuscitation Efforts?
You are a medical-surgical nurse with many years of experience. Imagine that your mother is in a hospital recovering from surgery without any complications. You have gone to the cafeteria to get something to eat. As you sit down, you hear Code Blue called to your mothers hospital room. You race to the room to find it packed with nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff. They are performing CPR and defibrillation. An endotracheal tube is inserted and oxygen is being bagged through it. IVs have been started in her arms and medications are being administered. You are frantic and cry out, What happened? Whats going on? Mom! Mom! A doctor yells, Someone get her out of here! Grasping your arm, a nurse hurriedly escorts you to the waiting room. You say, Wait, Im a nurse! The nurse apologizes since she must return to assist in the resuscitation of your mother. You are alone and afraid, and you feel helpless. You promised that you would never leave your mother when she needed you because she has always been there for you. Do you think you would want to be present during resuscitation efforts of a loved one or family member? Do you think your family member would want you there? Would you like to have a support person there for you or other family members to explain things and answer questions? What if the hospital has a policy or a protocol that provides specific guidelines for allowing family members the option to be present during resuscitation efforts? A policy or protocol could result in decreased stress for medical staff and family members. One of the authors, who has 18 years of experience in critical care, believed for many years that family members should not be present during resuscitation efforts. This author is now convinced that there are times when family members should have the option to be permitted at the bedside. This article will discuss the concerns and benefits of family presence; the education, policies and protocols; and describe the role of a family support facilitator. undergoing CPR and invasive procedures should be given the option of being present at the bedside (p. 1). This position is also supported by the American Heart Association (AHA, 2005) and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA, 2005). Because these three professional organizations exert significant influence on facility standards, acceptance of family presence during resuscitation is growing (Laskowski-Jones, 2007). Research has validated the belief that family members desire to be present and actually benefit from being present during resuscitation (MacLean et al., 2003; Meyers et al., 2000). AACN reported that Research and public opinion polls have found that 60%-80% of consumers believe family members should be given the option to be present during emergency procedures or resuscitation efforts (AACN, 2004, p. 1). However, the issue remains controversial, not just for family members, but also for health care professionals. health care team or they may be more likely to file a lawsuit, especially if the patient dies. Second, they fear that family members will be traumatized by the sights, sounds, and odors. They may be unable to tolerate the graphic scene and thus faint and injure themselves. Third, some individuals cope with anxiety, fear, and grief through anger and violence and this creates danger for all involved. Fourth, there is concern that family members may interfere with patient care. They may distract health care professionals from patient care decisions and tasks, and possibly impede resuscitation interventions. Finally, health care professionals may have anxiety about their performance and may feel distress about not being able to keep professional distance.

Benefits of Family Presence

Laskowski-Jones (2007) also offered reasons for allowing family members to be at the bedside during resuscitation. Nurses and doctors may believe it is the right thing to do. The family members presence may increase the patients desire to live, and encouragement provided by a family member may stimulate the patients will to fight to live. Conversely, the family member may offer support and closure; thus, the patient may feel it is alright to die. Family members may also be able to answer questions about the patients medical condition or history. By observing the health care professionals intense life-saving interventions, family members may come to the reality of the seriousness of the illness and unavoidable death. Finally, family members can see that everything is being done and/or has been done for their loved one. A final reason for permitting families to be present during resuscitation efforts is that their presence may inspire hope in the family and the health care providers providing the resuscitation efforts. Miller

Standards and Research That Support Family Presence

Family presence during resuscitation is a relatively new perspective. In November 2004, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) announced a practice alert stating that Family members of all patients

Concerns about Family Presence

Laskowski-Jones (2007) outlined several reasons why health care professionals disapprove of family presence. First, there are the concerns about potential liability and violations of confidentiality. If family members witness an error or misunderstand the interventions, they may lose confidence in the competence of the

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866-877-2676 (2000) argued that when family and health care providers believe a death was a good death, they leave feeling positive about the experience. When families see that all was done, they may thank the health care workers and leave with a sense of peace. Family members may feel they were there in the last moments and will carry these feelings with them. Health care workers may also feel inspired and renewed, knowing the family truly believed that everything was done and it was the patients time to die. In order for family members to be present at the bedside during these critical times, it is essential to increase awareness of the new standard of care among health care professionals. Information about situations in which family members presence has been beneficial in other institutions may also promote comprehension and a more positive attitude.

Nurses Nurturing Nurses

Table 1.
Recommended Guidelines for a Family Presence Policy 1. Designate who will be the family support facilitator. 2. Screen and assess family members to ensure those who attend will be able to cope and not interfere with resuscitation efforts. 3. Request permission from the resuscitation team for family to be present. 4. Prepare the family members with what to expect, and inform them that the teams priority is resuscitation of the patient. 5. The facilitator should escort the family to the bedside and stay with the family at all times.
Note: Adapted from Mian et al., 2007. See AACN (2004) and ENA (2005) for additional recommendations.

Mian and colleagues (2007) recommended to be addressed in a policy.

Family Agreement Tool and Family Support Facilitator

Mian and colleagues (2007) noted that the policy or protocol should include a script for a family agreement tool which is enforced by the family support facilitator. The family agreement tool should state specific guidelines or rules to be followed in order for the family to be present during resuscitation efforts. These include how long the family may stay at the bedside, how many family members may be at the bedside at one time, where they may stand, and under what

Education, Policies, and Procedures

Documents that support this change in practice need to be developed and implemented. AACN (2004) has provided recommendations for policies, procedures, and educational programs for health care professional staff. These recommendations include the benefits of family presence for the patient and family, criteria for assessing the family to ensure that patient care will not be interrupted, the role of the family support facilitator, support for family members or patients who decide not to have family members present, and contraindications to family presence. Mian, Warchal, Whitney, Fitzmaurice, and Tancredi (2007) offered general guidelines for developing standards for family presence during resuscitation or an invasive procedure:

circumstances they will be asked to leave. It should be stressed that the patients health care is the greatest priority, and they will be asked to leave the bedside if they interfere or attempt to interfere with any interventions. A sample script for nurses to use as a family agreement tool is included in Table 2. The family support facilitator should be present at all times. The facilitator may be a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, physician, chaplain, social worker, or other specially trained staff member who is assigned to support the psychological needs of the family, explain interventions, and answer questions. Given the responsibilities for family support, the facilitator

Table 2.
Sample Script for a Family Agreement Tool Mian and colleagues (2007) recommended that family members attending resuscitation efforts agree to all of the following before going into the treatment area. Keep in mind this is a script for the family support facilitator to use when talking with families not a form for family members to sign. 1. The family support facilitator will remain with family members while in the treatment area, answering all of the family members questions and explaining the medical care. 2. Family may only be able to be present for a few minutes due to treatment activity. The family support facilitator or the team may ask the family to leave. 3. The family support facilitator will try to get family members as close as possible to touch and talk to the family member. 4. The family members can leave any time they want. 5. The team is in charge of the treatment. 6. Only 1 or 2 family members may be in the treatment area at one time.
Note: Adapted from Mian et al., 2007.

In selected situations, family members may be permitted in the patient care area during either invasive procedures and/or resuscitation. The healthcare team will be responsible for assessing the needs of the patient and their families and arranging for the visit. (p. 56)
Definitions of family member, family support facilitator, and resuscitation should be identified in the policy or protocol. See Table 1 for the specific issues

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Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses should not be expected to participate in any aspect of the invasive procedure or resuscitation efforts. Additional responsibilities of the family support facilitator include assessing family members for comprehension of the situation, coping abilities, need or desire to be with the patient, and ability to leave or ask for assistance if unable to tolerate the situation. The facilitator should screen for family issues that would exclude them from being present at the bedside such as agitation, combativeness, extreme emotional instability, altered mental status, and intoxication (Mian et al., 2007). After the family agrees to the family agreement tool, the family support facilitator should consult with the health care team and inform them of the familys desire to be present. In addition, the facilitator should consider whether the time is appropriate, given unit activities or situations. Then the family should be prepared by the family support facilitator, who will explain the situation and what they may expect to observe as the patient is receiving treatment (Mian et al., 2007). The family support facilitator should escort the family members to the bedside where the facilitator will remain to provide support, explain interventions, and answer questions. If possible, the family should be able to see, speak to, and touch the patient. After the code is over, whether resuscitation efforts have been successful or not, the family support facilitator should escort the family to a private area, provide clinical updates, and continue to offer emotional support to the family. Debriefing for family members can provide an opportunity for them to discuss their perceptions of the situation, questions, and fears about the patients illness or lifesaving interventions (Mian et al., 2007). Debriefing will also be beneficial for the health care workers, especially if the patient outcome is unexpected or unfavorable. The health care workers can discuss, evaluate, and offer suggestions for improvement of the protocol as needed. care should be that families are given the option of being present at the bedside during resuscitation efforts. Further, there is evidence of positive benefits to family presence when the situation is appropriate. Resuscitation efforts are intense and stressful, but they may be more beneficial to the patient and family members than medical staff may actually comprehend. As nurses, we recognize the importance of family relationships, particularly during potential end-of-life events. It is the obligation of health care professionals to ease the stress of these events whenever possible, and family member presence may provide a means to alleviate family stress.
References American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). (2004). AACN practice alert: Family presence during CPR and invasive procedures. Retrieved from http:// w w w. a a c n . o r g / W D / P r a c t i c e / Docs/Family_Presence_During_CPR_112004.pdf American Heart Association (AHA). (2005). AHA guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Retrieved from http://circ.aha journals.org/cgi/content/full/112/24_s uppl/IV-6 Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). (2005). Family presence at the bedside during invasive procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Retrieved from http://www.ena.org/SiteCollectionDoc uments/Position%20Statements/Family_ Presence_-_ENA_PS.pdf

www.amsn.org
Laskowski-Jones, L. (2007). Should families be present during resuscitation? Nursing 2007, 37(5), 44-47. MacLean, S.L., Guzzetta, C.E., White, C., Fontaine, D., Eichhorn, D.J., Meyers, T.A., & Desy, P. (2003). Family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and invasive procedures: Practices of critical care and emergency nurses. American Journal of Critical Care, 12(3), 246-257. Meyers, T., Eichhorn, D., Guzzetta, C., Clark, A., Klein, J.D., Taliaferro, E., & Calvin, A. (2000). Family presence during invasive procedures and resuscitation: The experience of family members, nurses, and physicians. American Journal of Nursing, 100(2), 32-43. Mian, P., Warchal, S., Whitney, S., Fitzmaurice, J., & Tancredi, D. (2007). Impact of a multifaceted intervention on nurses and physicians attitudes and behaviors toward family presence during resuscitation. Critical Care Nurse, 27(1), 52-61. Miller, J.F. (2000). Coping with chronic illness: Overcoming powerlessness (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis. Linda B. Charron, BSN, RN, CCRN, CSC, is a Critical Care Nurse, High Point Regional Health System, High Point, NC. Donald D. Kautz, PhD, RN, CNRN, CRRN, CNE, is an Assistant Professor, The University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC.

Acknowledgment: The authors gratefully acknowledge the editorial assistance of Ms. Elizabeth Tornquist with this article.

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Family Presence May Inspire Hope

In conclusion, the AHA, ENA, and AACN recommend that the standard of

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