Family-centered nursing in the postanesthesia care unit: the evaluation of practice

The philosophy of nursing care at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (MCHV) is family-centered. In the summer of 1989, an open family visitation policy was implemented. The goals of allowing family members into the PACU were to (1) enhance communication between staff and family members, and (2) evaluate whether patients and family members perceived the open visitation policy as beneficial. The specific focus of phase I of the study is the evaluation of the patients and their families who participated in the experience with the PACU staff. A questionnaire was developed to assess several dimensions of the experience. To date, 46 complete sets of patients and families have responded to the questionnaire. Results show that 89% of the patients and 96% of the families involved felt that the open visitation policy was beneficial. Data were also collected from the PACU nurses who participated and two thirds stated a perceived benefit to patients and family members. Phase II of the study will include implementing a PACU booklet and video preoperatively to prepare patients and family for the perioperative experience. Questionnaires will then be redistributed and responses of the prepared study group will be compared with the phase I control group. The objective of phase II will be to determine the impact of improved environmental awareness of the patient and family on their perception of the PACU visitation.