CHEST Guidelines-What’s-the-“Get-to-Know-Me-Board

What’s-the-“Get-to-Know-Me-Board

Pdf Summary

The "Get to Know Me Board" (GTKMB) is an initiative designed to humanize patient care in the ICU by providing healthcare professionals with personal insights about their patients. It's structured as a simple visual such as a sheet of paper, poster, or whiteboard, filled out by patients themselves, or their families or friends, and displayed in the patient's room. This tool offers care teams a better understanding of the patient's life outside the hospital, covering personal interests, hobbies, favorite foods, and important life events. By shifting focus from what is medically wrong with the patient to what matters to them personally, the GTKMB fosters improved communication, guidance in care provision, and deeper connections among patients, families, and healthcare providers.<br /><br />In a study cited by Ahmad et al., researchers conducted interviews with 38 clinicians from a diverse range of healthcare roles and identified four key themes regarding the GTKMB's impact: It humanizes care by providing often-overlooked background information about the patient; it improves communication through shared understanding; it helps guide meaningful care through knowledge of a patient’s values; and it strengthens family-provider bonds.<br /><br />This initiative gains particular relevance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw increased patient sedation, decreased mobility, and the exclusion of family visits, leading to dehumanization in patient care. A GTKMB, in conjunction with the existing ABCDEF bundle—a protocol that emphasizes minimizing sedation, avoiding harmful medications, and engaging families—could further humanize ICU care. Advocates like Mark L. Rolfsen and E. Wesley Ely are calling for greater adoption of both practices to restore the human aspects of healthcare and improve long-term outcomes for ICU patients. There remain logistical considerations and potential content concerns, but the GTKMB represents a promising step toward reviving empathy and personal connection in medical settings.

Keywords

Get to Know Me Board

ICU patient care

humanizing healthcare

patient insights

communication improvement

COVID-19 aftermath

ABCDEF bundle

family-provider bonds

empathy in medicine

personal connection