Explain traits of a healthy family

Explain traits of a healthy family

Traits of a Healthy Family

For the past 10 years I have worked in organ donation. That being the case, most of my family interactions over that time have been based on approaching these families for consent for organ donation.

Initially, I struggled to find the one family that stood out from the literal hundreds I have approached in my career. The text, however, introduced me to the concept of an energized family. The Garrett family did that for me. The potential donor was a trauma surgeon. I approached his wife, sister, mother and father who’s occupations were ED physician, criminal defense attorney, superior court judge and college professor, respectively. An educated, articulate family, their interactions and the manner in which they communicated and supported one another was clearly what Pratt considered a family that was energized. (Kaakinen 2017)

While the family traits we look for may not be broken down as specifically as box 1-1, organ donation approach and consent training has focused on identifying similar family traits and taking them into consideration when the time comes for a donation conversation. So important are these considerations that most organ procurement organizations plan for a team huddle at some point prior to family approach. (Shemie 2018) During this huddle, various members of the health care team discussion the family dynamics at length to determine everything from who is in charge, who seems like their in charge but really is not, how well they communicate, understand. Basically, all the parts of box 1-1.

It has been my experience that in order for a family consent for donation, several of these traits must exist. Families that say no to donation are the rare ones that lack any of the traits of a healthy family. When a family says yes to donation, you have to work closely with them for several days. I now realize how lucky I have been in the sense that most of my long-term interactions with families, have been with healthy families

 

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