Strategies to improve end-of-life care in the intensive care unit.
Death is a frequent occurrence in the intensive care unit (ICU). Critical care nurses often feel unprepared to deliver expert end-of-life care. This article proposes specific strategies for critical care nurses to improve the delivery of end-of-life care in the ICU. Critical care nurses can examine beliefs about death; recognize that cure and palliative care coexist; create an environment that supports dying as well as curing; improve communication among providers, patients, and families; provide "small things that make a big difference" at the end-of-life; and locate and utilize support for improving end-of-life care.
D003142:Communication; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods*