title: The role of the critical care nurse in the delivery of bad news.
abstract: The NHS Plan and the Code of Professional Conduct direct the nurse to include the family in decisions made about the care of the patient. Well-developed communication is an essential interpersonal skill and a professional means of establishing nurse-patient/family trust. The use of a reliable and valid assessment tool based on Leske's Inventory will enable the nurse to prioritize the needs of each family at a stressful time and in unfamiliar surroundings, whether it is the intimidating critical care setting or not. Key training of critical care nurses in the sensitive area of delivering bad news is lacking. Failure to assess effectively individualized family needs and to plan, implement and evaluate the care given to relatives precludes holistic care. When care is managed to include the family, empowerment of the patient and family will lead to autonomy.
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013041:Specialties, Nursing