Promoting Family Presence During Resuscitation and Invasive Procedures

Nurses promote family presence by enabling family members to attend resuscitation or invasive procedures in such a way that they can view or maintain physical contact with the patient. Family presence has been found to benefit patients and families and aligns with patient- and family-centered care models.Family presence during resuscitation and invasive procedures was once a controversial practice, first established in the 1980s and then becoming the accepted standard in acute and critical care that it is today. Unfortunately, due to restrictions to visitors and loved ones in the clinical setting during the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice of family presence during resuscitation and invasive procedures became less common, leading to increased need to revitalize or implement family presence programs.Margo A. Halm, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and her team write about a “Being There” model using a logic model framework that offers nurses, clinical units, and health care organizations a strategic approach to promote or initiate family presence programs in a variety of care settings. However, nurses can start learning about and promoting family presence on their units today.