Adult congenital heart disease nurse coordination: Essential skills and role in optimizing team-based care a position statement from the International Society for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ISACHD).
BACKGROUND
Founded in 1992, the International Society for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ISACHD) is the leading global organization of professionals dedicated to pursuing excellence in the care of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) worldwide. Among ISACHD's objectives is to "promote a holistic team-based approach to the care of the adult with CHD that is comprehensive, patient-centered, and interdisciplinary" (http://www.isachd.org). This emphasis on team-based care reflects the fact that adults with CHD constitute a heterogeneous population with a wide spectrum of disease complexity, frequent association with other organ involvement, and varied co-morbidities and psychosocial issues.


METHODS
Recognizing the vital role of the adult CHD (ACHD) nurse coordinator (ACHD-NC) in optimizing team-based care, ISACHD established a task force to elucidate and provide guidance on the roles and responsibilities of the ACHD-NC. Acknowledging that nursing roles can vary widely from region to region based on factors such as credentials, scopes of practice, regulations, and local culture and tradition, an international panel was assembled with experts from North America, Europe, East Asia, and Oceania. The writing committee was tasked with reviewing key aspects of the ACHD-NC's role in team-based ACHD care.


CONCLUSIONS
The resulting ISACHD position statement addresses the ACHD-NC's role and skills required in organizing, coordinating, and facilitating the care of adults with CHD, holistic assessment of the ACHD patient, patient education and counseling, and support for self-care management and self-advocacy.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Palo Alto, CA, United States. Electronic address: CSillman@stanfordhealthcare.org.
Christina
C
Sillman
University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Joanne
J
Morin
Center for Congenital Heart Disease, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
Corina
C
Thomet
Akron Children's Hospital, Akron, OH, United States.
Deena
D
Barber
Chiba Cardiovascular Center, Japan.
Yoshiko
Y
Mizuno
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hsiao-Ling
HL
Yang
The Prince Charles Hospital, Adult Congenital Heart Disease Service, Brisbane, Australia.
Theresa
T
Malpas
Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Centre, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese (MI), Italy.
Serena Francesca
SF
Flocco
Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Clare
C
Finlay
National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chi-Wen
CW
Chen
Peter Lougheed Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Yvonne
Y
Balon
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine and Divisions of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, United States.
Susan M
SM
Fernandes
D000328:Adult; D026683:Advisory Committees; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012648:Self Care
Adult congenital heart disease; Grown-up congenital heart disease; Nurse coordination; Position statement; Team-based approach