ICU through their Eyes

Emotion is always present in critical conversations. When we recognize emotion, validate feelings and respond with empathy and curiosity, we allow patients and their families to engage in the process, to build trust, and to better understand their values. When emotions are too intense, or feelings are not validated, people become disengaged, less trusting, and often fail to explore and understand the deeper values‚and instead may act on raw, surface emotions that actually may not be in their best interest. We often answer feelings with facts. Instead, we should G.I.V.E. when we encounter emotion. G.I.V.E. is a mnemonic tool that offers a simple approach to responding when an emotion arises in conversations. First, get that there are emotion present and pause. Identify what you think the emotion might be or describe what behaviours you are noticing. Validate the feelings expressed. Explore to understand better and offer your curiosity and caring. And if you can't remember what G.I.V.E. is prompting you to do, it may be enough to give your attention and patience to the other person at that moment.