An admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) is often a traumatic experience for both patients and families. Although members of the critical care team are specially trained to provide care and treatment requiring close, constant observation, the environment can be overwhelming with machines, tubes, and equipment used in the care of the patient. With what feels like a barrage of requests for information about the patient’s medical history, advance care directives and goals of care, families are often challenged to focus on the goal of the healthcare team to help their seriously ill loved one heal and recover.

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