The PARENTED Outline for Observing Hospitalized Pediatric Patients and Their Families

The PARENTED outline (a mnemonic device) and the companion Parenting Landscape handout are proposed tools for clinical use that were developed as an outgrowth of clinical experience with hospitalized pediatric mental health patients and their families in combination with family systems theories of Minuchin and Bowen, Ainsworth and Bowlby's attachment theory, and Erikson's stages of development. The tools contain eight categories of observable, typical family interactions that a nurse on an inpatient mental health unit may encounter. In mnemonic format, the categories are easy to remember so nursing staff can spontaneously interact with pediatric patients and their families while formulating purposeful, organized observations and watching for important family dynamics. Other treatment team members can benefit from this theory-based observation approach because the tools help generate descriptive details for documentation that are available to the entire team. The tools can be shared with veteran staff and new nurses during orientation. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 55(5), 51-56.].