Richard Jonas, MD, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, offered the following thoughts:

• Our goal in the cardiovascular program is to help and support the whole family through this challenging time. I believe that a positive and caring team approach of parents and caregivers working closely together undoubtedly hastens a child's recovery.

• One of the most common frustrations for parents during a hospitalization is that they receive different answers to the same question from different healthcare providers. This is more common when the stay is long and/or difficult.

Often there is no single right answer to questions like "when will my child be ready to have the breathing tube removed?" Our doctors and nurses do their best to honestly answer questions, however differences in personal style and communication as well as individual variations in optimism can result in seemingly conflicting answers to the same question.

In these situations, it is especially helpful for parents to identify the staff or attending physician in charge of their care. This will either be one of the staff cardiac surgeons or cardiologists. Parents should not hesitate to direct their questions, concerns, or perceived conflicts in care to this individual.

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