Nursing interventions in pediatric palliative care.
Caring for chronically ill children whose health is declining and thosechildren who are critically ill is stressful and can be overwhelming to bothhealthcare professionals and parents. Palliative care teams aim to providethe multidisciplinary and holistic support staff and families need. Families,nurses, and primary medical teams value the involvement of a pediatric pal-liative medicine team to improve the quality of living. The bedside nurse isa vital part of the support system and is ready and available to be presentwith the palliative care team to support families no matter what the circum-stances. Advocating for the patient; creating a culture of flexibility; antici-pating, identifying, and responding to the patient and family needs;fostering hope; and providing the support needed for the parents to makeinformed decisions, are keys to providing quality patient care. Nurses arein the position to positively influence each of these areas of patient care ina positive manner.
Powaski
Kristen M
KM
Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, The Children's Hospital at The Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk S20, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. powaskk1@ccf.org
D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy*; D005190:Family; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000379:methods*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012944:Social Support