I can remember a patient with an upper GI bleed, Minnesota tube in place, on maximum vent support and two pressors, who clearly was not doing well. I was checking yet another blood product with a nurse colleague, when a consulting clinician came in and told the family members at the bedside that “his numbers look good.” He then smiled and walked out of the room. The family responded with sighs of relief and “thank goodnesses” while the other nurse and I looked at each other as if to say “what just happened here?”

Have you experienced similar situations? I hesitate to name the clinician’s area of expertise because I don’t want to give any specialty a bad rap or make a generalization. However, the point is that sometimes a person not directly involved with a patient’s day-to-day care can make an observation to patients or families and give them a message that may not be correct. It isn’t always one of false hope either; perhaps a patient is doing better, yet his _______ (you can fill in the blank - rash, glucose level, wound, etc.) is not healing or normalizing and a caregiver might focus on that one clinical finding when talking with the patient and his family members.

It is for this reason that I was both surprised and discouraged when I read the results of a recent study published in Chest, “Effectiveness Trial of an Intensive Communication Structure for Families of Long-Stay ICU Patients.” In this study, 135 ICU patients received ‘usual care’ and 346 ICU patients had weekly family meetings where the patient’s progress and goals were discussed. The investigators were looking at the impact of this intervention on length of stay and no significant difference between the two groups was found.

Despite the negative findings of this study, it is important to remember the positives, or benefits, of sitting down with families for formal meetings where information can be shared and questions can be answered. For example, regular family meetings can allow you to:

• Provide personal contact
• Give updates on the patient’s medical condition and treatment options
• Discuss his prognosis
• Learn about the patient and family, including expectations and wishes
• Gain the opportunity to formulate a trusting and caring relationship
• Tailor the treatment plan according to the input of all staff and the patient’s family.

Please allow me to share the following quote from the authors in their conclusion of this study:

"Even if the use of regular formal family meetings does not alter resource use in all settings, the literature is replete with evidence of other beneficial effects of providing families with time to sit in a quiet location and talk at some length about the patient's goals and preferences and to explore issues related to quality of life, and providing families with consistent support as they face difficult decisions."

What is the standard procedure for initiating, scheduling, and attending family meetings where you work?