Student Abstracts

Resuscitation Study

Background:  The research literature suggests that allowing families to witness resuscitation on their loved ones is beneficial.  Despite these findings, this remains a controversial topic among health care workers and most health care institutions have not adopted this practice.

Objective:  The purpose of this study was to determine if nurses and physicians supported family presence during CPR and the rationale for their opinions.  It also investigated previous experience of staff members who had allowed family presence.

Method:  A survey was distributed to nurses and physicians practicing in critical care and medical surgical units at a full-service tertiary hospital in Northeast Florida.  Statistical significance was determined using chi-square analysis and written responses were analyzed using content analysis.

Results:  Out of the 71 respondents, 43% of physicians and 25% of nurses preferred a policy prohibiting families at the bedside (p=0.25).  When asked if they believed being present during CPR facilitates the grieving process, 69% of the nurse respondents agreed or strongly agreed, with 85% of physician respondents disagreeing or strongly disagreeing (p=0.004).  Most nurses (63%) and physicians (84%) agreed or strongly agreed families could sustain psychological damage if witnessing CPR (p=0.079).  Four major themes related to family presence emerged from the written responses.  These themes included (1) Having a choice, (2) Beneficial to families, (3) Traumatizing for families, and (4) Family gets in the way.

Conclusion:  The results of this research suggest that nurses and physicians are not aware of the benefits of family presence.  Also, if there are no written policies, guidelines should be available allowing staff the option of bringing families to the bedside.