Assignment: ICU Environment
Assignment: ICU Environment
The statement was intended for use in all ICU environments. Patients and surrogate decision-makers have similar rights both to participate in decision-making when appropriate and to rely more heavily on providers when they wish to do so, regardless of the type of ICU. Similarly, the statement is equally applicable in pediatric and neonatal settings, where decision-making partnerships between parents and the ICU team are equally important. As noted in the statement, including children in some decisions can often be appropriate as well. The statement is also intended to be applicable internationally. Although patient and surrogate decision-making preferences may differ globally, the default approach presented and the recommendation to adjust the decision-making model to fit the preferences of the patient or surrogate are universal. Both ACCM and ATS are international organizations, and the literature review included publications from many countries. The statement focuses on the ICU environment because critically ill patients are often, but not always, unable to participate in decision-making themselves, and because many decisions in the ICU are value- sensitive. The recommendations in the statement, however, could be equally applicable in all patient care settings.
To optimize shared decision-making, clinicians should be trained in specific communication skills. Core categories of skills include establishing a trusting relationship with the patient/surrogate; providing emotional support; assessing patients’/surrogates’ understanding of the situation; explaining the patient’s condition and prognosis; highlighting that there are options to choose from; explaining principles of surrogate decision-making; explaining treatment options; eliciting patient’s values, goals, and preferences; deliberating together; and making a decision. The full policy statement provides significant guidance and examples in these areas (6).
Finally, ACCM and ATS recommend further research to assess the use of various approaches to decision-making in the ICU. The use of decision aids, communication skills training, implementation of patient navigator or decision support counselor programs, and other interventions should be subjected to randomized controlled trials to assess efficacy. Considerations regarding the cost and time burdens should be weighed against
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
