Background Effective communication between intensive care unit patients and their families and nurses promotes relationship-centered care and improves nurses’ ability to meet patient and family needs. However, communication with these patients is challenging because of their critical illness. Families often become surrogate decision makers for adult intensive care unit patients. Objective To systematically assess available evidence on communication between adult intensive care unit patients and their families and nurses as the initial step in developing nursing strategies to strengthen communication skills. Methods In this integrative review, the method of Whittemore and Knafl was used to synthesize findings from qualitative and quantitative (descriptive and experimental) research. Results The review revealed a variety of research designs, measurement tools, and types of interventions. The qualitative findings suggest that nurses can strengthen relationship-centered care by regularly updating patients’ families and providing information that can assist with decision-making. The quantitative findings suggest that nurses should be mindful of family members’ needs for assurance, comfort, and support. Providing information on patient status can help alleviate family concerns. Conclusions Improved communication between patients and families and intensive care unit nurses is essential to strengthen relationship-centered care. Additional research is needed to better understand the communication needs of adult patients and their families in the intensive care unit.

Introduction: Medical educators need targeted faculty development programs to give them the skills necessary to produce educational scholarship for promotion and tenure.  At the Indiana University School of Medicine, which encompasses a large regional campus system, we implemented Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) to provide a platform for medical educators to engage in a collaborative, year-long educational research project facilitated by a faculty member well-versed in educational research.  Methods: 18 faculty participants were assigned to one of 4 FLC groups, which met monthly from 2019 to 2020.  The participants also attended a series of one-hour monthly educational seminars designed to build foundational skills in educational research.  To assess program effectiveness, participants were surveyed at 6 months and 18 months after the start of the program.  Results: 94% of participants completed the 6-month survey and 56% completed the 18-month survey.  A majority of respondents at both time-points (88% and 60%, respectively) agreed or strongly agreed that the FLC process met their professional development needs to help move their educational scholarship forward.  At the time of the 18-month survey, 50% of respondents had submitted their work for presentation at a regional or national conference or for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, with the remainder intending to do so.  Discussion: The inaugural offering of this FLC program has established a successful and sustainable model for developing medical educators.  By employing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle for process improvement, several changes to the program have already been instituted that should further bolster the scholarly productivity of our medical educators.