Clinician’s Corner: Meeting family care needs during resuscitative procedures and cardiac arrest in the emergency department

Authors

  • Matthew Douma
  • Christopher Picard
  • Karlin Su
  • Calah Myhre
  • Katherine Smith
  • Carmel Montgomery

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/cjen228

Abstract

Emergency nurses in Canada provide care to many thousands of critically ill and injured patients, and their families, each year (Rowe et al., 2020). Unfortunately, some Emergency Department (ED) patients and families report a lack of psychosocial and emotional caring (Gordon et al., 2010). Many resuscitative processes and procedures have been described as dehumanizing and traumatic for families (De Stefano et al., 2016; Jang & Choe, 2019). Significant negative emotional and physiological impacts may remain after hospitalization for the patient and their loved ones, whether receiving care for medical, (Davidson & Harvey, 2016) trauma, (McGahey-Oakland et al., 2007) or cardiac arrest presentations (Leske et al., 2013). Families of patients who survive (and those who do not survive) have reported persistent negative psychological effects weeks and months after receiving care in the ED (Jang & Choe, 2019; Keyes et al., 2014; Sawyer et al., 2020).

Author Biographies

Matthew Douma

Matthew Douma, PhD(c), RN, is a resuscitation scientist, a PhD candidate at University College Dublin, editor of CJEN and a recovering emergency nurse.

Christopher Picard

Christopher T. Picard, CD, MN, RN, is a Clinical Nurse Educator and Researcher from Edmonton, Alberta; his research interests are the intersections of resuscitation and informatics. His research is focused on hemorrhage control, and cardiovascular and resuscitation care.

Karlin Su

Karlin Su, BScN, RN, is an Emergency Registered Nurse working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and NorthEast Community Health Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. In addition, Kar Lin is completing full-time studies in the Master of Nursing Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Alberta.

Calah Myhre

Calah Myhre, BScN, RN, is a second-year medical student at the University of Alberta. In addition, Calah is a Registered Nurse, working casually in the intensive care units at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Foothills Medical Centre.

Katherine Smith

Katherine E. Smith, MD, FRCPC, is a full-time Emergency Physician working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Departments, in addition to being a STARS transport physician and Trauma Team Leader. Dr. Smith is also a Clinical Lecturer and Social Accountability Lead with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

Carmel Montgomery

Carmel Montgomery, PhD, RN, has been an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta since 2021. She completed her PhD with the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alberta following several years of working as a staff nurse in the intensive care unit, palliative home care, quality improvement, and patient safety.

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Published

2023-07-13

How to Cite

Douma, M., Picard, C., Su, K., Myhre, C., Smith, K., & Montgomery, C. (2023). Clinician’s Corner: Meeting family care needs during resuscitative procedures and cardiac arrest in the emergency department. Canadian Journal of Emergency Nursing, 46(1), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjen228

Issue

Vol. 46 No. 1 (2023): Spring 2023

Section

Peer Reviewed Articles

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Copyright (c) 2023 Matthew Douma, Christopher Picard, Karlin Su, Calah Myhre, Katherine Smith, Carmel Montgomery

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