Should family be permitted in a trauma bay?

Abstract

This essay explores how some of the arguments advanced for and against family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation might apply to the question of whether family should be permitted in the trauma bay. While the first section suggests that many of the proposed benefits might apply to family presence during trauma resuscitations, the second section contends that family presence in the trauma bay could detract from the quality of patient care, violate patient privacy, and be psychologically damaging for the witnessing family. The essay concludes by proposing a chaperoning system that could mitigate some of the proposed concerns with a family presence policy and by analyzing some of the ethical commitments that underlie the discussion of family in the trauma bay.