How I care for family members of the critically ill - Dr Brenda Pun

The AVF Podcast: ICU Tips & Tricks invites colleagues to share anything and everything on how they deal with various clinical situations. Expect discussions on how experts personalise evidence-based medicine for the patient at the bedside.
In this episode, Dr Brenda Pun discusses how healthcare workers should look after family members and loved ones of critically ill patients. Dr Pun is an advanced practice nurse with a special interest in critical care, who serves as the Director of Data Quality at the Vanderbilt Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center. She is a key leader of the 2018 clinical practice guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU (PADIS) and in the implementation of the ABCDEF bundle. Her research has focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with a special emphasis on delirium, sedation, long-term outcomes and teamwork.
Issues discussed in this interview:
• Impact of critical illness on family members and loved ones of patients in the ICU
• Post-intensive care syndrome-family (PICS-F)
• The ABCDEF bundle
• Care for family members and loved ones in the ICU
• Care for family members and loved ones after the ICU stay
• Care for family members and loved ones of dying and deceased patients
• COVID-19 and its impact on family members and loved ones of patients in the ICU
Work cited:
1. Devlin JW, Skrobik Y, Gelinas C, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and management of pain, agitation/sedation, delirium, immobility, and sleep disruption in adult patients in the ICU. Crit Care Med 2018;46:e825-e73.
2. Davidson JE, Aslakson RA, Long AC, et al. Guidelines for family-centered care in the neonatal, pediatric, and adult ICU. Crit Care Med 2017;45:103-28.
3. Pun BT, Balas MC, Barnes-Daly MA, et al. Caring for critically ill patients with the ABCDEF bundle: results of the ICU Liberation Collaborative in over 15,000 adults. Crit Care Med 2019;47:3-14.
4. Pun BT, Badenes R, Heras La Calle G, et al. Prevalence and risk factors for delirium in critically ill patients with COVID-19 (COVID-D): a multicentre cohort study. Lancet Respir Med 2021;9:239-50.