Sandra K. Eggenberger

The essence of the family critical illness experience and nurse-family meetings.

Nursing care of families is essential to strong family support and maintenance of family health during a critical illness. Secondary data analysis of interviews conducted with 11 families with a family member in the intensive care unit revealed two essences: the family critical illness experience and the family vision for the kind of care families required and desired from nurses. The purpose of this article was to explicate the essence of these phenomena and their implications for family nursing practice. Findings affirm the need for a family intervention described in the literature, that of regularly scheduled nurse—family meetings. Although developed for work with families experiencing a chronic illness, bringing families together and inviting meaningful conversation about their experiences is appropriate for families experiencing critical illness. Nurse—family meetings acknowledge suffering and vulnerability of families when a loved one is critically ill and afford families an opportunity for honest sensitive communication with nurses.

Using Simulation Pedagogy in the Formation of Family-Focused Generalist Nurses.

BACKGROUND Nursing practice with families is essential because a family members illness affects the family and, reciprocally, the family influences health outcomes. Yet, nurses often report a lack of confidence in their ability to meet the needs of families, whereas family members often describe troubling experiences with nurses. These challenges may have beginning roots in nursing education. This article explores the use of simulation in the formation of family-focused generalist nurses. METHOD Simulation pedagogy was used to guide students in developing an understanding of the importance of family nursing care, gaining confidence in family practices, and developing family competencies. RESULTS Innovative simulation learning experiences in an undergraduate nursing curriculum helped students to learn how to develop nurse-family relationships and gain humanistic skills of family nursing practices. Students and faculty reported that simulation guides students to achieve meaningful outcomes. CONCLUSION In this curriculum, faculty consistently directs attention to the family in simulation learning experiences, and students value this pedagogy.

Giving Voice to Family Caring in Cancer: Integrating Visual Art and Research Findings

Family caring is not yet fully understood by the nursing discipline as an entity apart from caring for individuals. Aesthetic expression of research findings give voice to the family experience during illness and contribute to an understanding of family caring that may transform nursing practice. The phenomenon revealed by seven families experiencing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia was turbulent waiting with intensified connections. This phenomenon was interpreted by an impressionistic artist in an acrylic painting that elicited strong emotive responses from families, researchers, nurses, and students. Visual art illuminated cancer as a family experience that would benefit from practice focused on family caring.

Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society: Advancing Family Nursing

In 2008, the School of Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato, received an endowment of

Development and Implementation of a Family-Focused Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: Minnesota State University, Mankato

7 million dollars from Glen and Becky Taylor to begin the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society (http://ahn.mnsu.edu/nursing/institute/). A brief announcement about the creation of the Institute was published in the Journal of Family Nursing in August 2008 (Family Nursing Network, 2008). This short report provides an update about the activities of the Institute with an emphasis on initiatives related to family nursing education. In the fall of 2009, the Institute Coordinators, Dr. Sandra Eggenberger and Dr. Sonja Meiers, assembled a group of nursing scholars to form the Taylor Advisory Council. The members are Dr. Janice Bell, Dr. Catherine (Kit) Chesla, Dr. Sharon Denham, Dr. Naomi Ervin, Dr. Kathleen Knafl, and Dr. Patricia Tomlinson. The Advisory Council assessed the environmental context of the Institute, developed recommendations, and finalized the vision and mission.

Family Interviews as a Method for Family Research

Nurse educators have the responsibility to create learning experiences centered on the scientific and praxis foci of the nursing discipline to advance nursing practice with families. Although the nursing profession has ample knowledge about the importance of family nursing and the value of family-focused actions, there is a lack of curricular and teaching models that address nursing practice with families in numerous courses and learning experiences. This article describes the development of a family-focused undergraduate curriculum and teaching–learning practices at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the United States. A vision and mission centered on the nursing of families, a family care teaching model, a framework of family constructs, and taxonomy of significant learning strategies guided faculty in creating learner-centered experiences. Course objectives, competencies, and teaching–learning practices in this curriculum are described. This manuscript may guide the development of innovative teaching–learning practices that integrate family nursing constructs and family nursing actions from a variety of family nursing models and theories. Initial evaluation suggests that this curriculum can increase students’ knowledge of family and instill a passion for family care in undergraduate programs.