Janet Deatrick Discusses Nurses' Roles in Family Management

Janet Deatrick, PhD, RN, FAAN, discusses the role that nurses play in family management.

Most families with a loved one undergoing cancer treatment are concerned with nurses helping them live each day as any family would. Families and their loved ones tend to have better outcomes when they are focused on family rather than condition in their management.

While nurses should teach people to take care of a condition, Deatrick says, they should also talk about taking care of a loved one in the context of ongoing family life.