ABSTRACT
Personnel at the general intensive care unit at the University of Heidelberg Children's Hospital aim for a maximum of openness and transparency for parents regarding everything relevant to their own child. In this context ward nurses were interviewed about diverse aspects of their work. Aside from technical-medical activities, nurses regarded the relationship to the parents to be a central point in their work. The recognize that the relationship to the parents influences the relationship to the child and partially even the nursing of the child. Nurses are in favor of openness and transparency in relating to parents, however, reality reveals contradictions. Nurses differentiated attitude and the consequences for physicians, psychologists and parents are discussed. A case example is presented.
