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Interaction with Family and Friends in Neurosurgical Critical Care

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Essentials of Neurosurgical Anesthesia & Critical Care

Abstract

Quality medical care requires clinicians to have expertise in many areas of practice; one essential area is communication with patients, families, and surrogates. This expertise is especially important when the patient is critically ill in an intensive care unit (ICU), where information exchange occurs more commonly with families and surrogates. Communication challenges in the ICU are greater because critically ill patients frequently are unable to speak for themselves and the clinician is dependent on surrogate decision-makers, friends, or family members, to understand the patient’s goals and values regarding life and health care.

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Correspondence to Amy E. Guthrie MSN, CNS, ACHPN .

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Guthrie, A.E., Richardson, R.H., Smith, M.D. (2012). Interaction with Family and Friends in Neurosurgical Critical Care. In: Brambrink, A., Kirsch, J. (eds) Essentials of Neurosurgical Anesthesia & Critical Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09562-2_91

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09562-2_91

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-09561-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-09562-2

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