Lessons Learned by Adolescents, and Hospital Staff
Lessons Learned by Adolescents, and Hospital Staff
As teens with chronic illness grow to adulthood, it is essential that the health care environment encourage adolescent self-advocacy and advisory opportunities to maximize optimal states of disease management and healthy functioning. Creating a teen advisory committee within the hospital community is an effective way to ensure that teens' views are heard. Facilitators of the committee must be very knowledgeable about adolescent development and the impact of chronic illness on this population, and believe in the capabilities of these youth to inform health care providers. The patient- and family-centered care movement provides the evidence of the value of such a committee.
Nurses are in a unique position to facilitate a patient-centered council, such as TAC. Nursing is the largest discipline represented within the walls of the hospital setting. Therefore, nurses, together with nursing leadership, have the ability to bring the adolescent perspective to other providers throughout the institution. Nurses have in-depth knowledge of the diseases and disorders that affect committee participants and can assist the non-nursing facilitators in understanding the major body systems involved and the potential impact of the disorder on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of the adolescent.
As facilitators we believe that the information we have collected and described is revealing and enlightening, and we continue to grow within our own group and with the teens. TAC has been empowering for teens and has made a substantial impact within the hospital community at large. When patients and facilitators work together to bring their combined areas of expertise to the table, positive change can happen.
Implications for Nursing
As teens with chronic illness grow to adulthood, it is essential that the health care environment encourage adolescent self-advocacy and advisory opportunities to maximize optimal states of disease management and healthy functioning. Creating a teen advisory committee within the hospital community is an effective way to ensure that teens' views are heard. Facilitators of the committee must be very knowledgeable about adolescent development and the impact of chronic illness on this population, and believe in the capabilities of these youth to inform health care providers. The patient- and family-centered care movement provides the evidence of the value of such a committee.
Nurses are in a unique position to facilitate a patient-centered council, such as TAC. Nursing is the largest discipline represented within the walls of the hospital setting. Therefore, nurses, together with nursing leadership, have the ability to bring the adolescent perspective to other providers throughout the institution. Nurses have in-depth knowledge of the diseases and disorders that affect committee participants and can assist the non-nursing facilitators in understanding the major body systems involved and the potential impact of the disorder on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of the adolescent.
As facilitators we believe that the information we have collected and described is revealing and enlightening, and we continue to grow within our own group and with the teens. TAC has been empowering for teens and has made a substantial impact within the hospital community at large. When patients and facilitators work together to bring their combined areas of expertise to the table, positive change can happen.
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