Visiting Hours in the ICU: Finding the Balance among Patient, Visitor and Staff Needs

TOPIC: Visiting hours. PURPOSE: To explore the experience of nurses who have been identified as experts at working with visitors in a critical care setting. METHODS: A qualitative research design incorporating in-depth interviews of eight intensive care nurses, limited participant observation, and a review of selected documents was used to investigate how expert nurses incorporate visitors into their daily practice. CONCLUSION: Incorporating visiting family members in to the plan of care is complex and requires balancing the visitors' needs for information and access to a loved one with the nurse's need to safely manage the care of a critically ill individual.