How does a patient advocate help those in critical care?

When someone you love is a patient in a critical care unit, it can be a time of great stress, anxiety, frustration, and sadness.  And because the clinical team is often focused minute-by-minute on the care of the patient, communication about your loved one may not be as comprehensive, as timely, or as helpful as you would like.  

Having a patient advocate, therefore, particularly someone who has worked as a nurse in critical care, can help ease some of your anxiety and worry because she can explain to you what is going on, what the test results might mean, why tests are being ordered and what the clinical team might be looking for with those tests, and help allay some of your concern.  And very importantly, if you want, she can communicate with the clinical team, speaking with the physicians and nurses on staff and then convey that information to you.  She can also guide you and support you as you consider other care or placement decisions.

Trust me, not that every hospital is a bad place, but having someone you can trust looking out for your critically ill loved one can not only be a timesaver (think of all the calls you'll make tracking down a physician) but it can also provide peace of mind for you and your family.