| Abstract: |
The high-acuity, fast-paced environment of the intensive care unit (ICU) mandates that adequate staffing is available to provide care for critically ill patients. It is widely recognized that patient care in the ICU is best provided by an integrated multiprofessional team of dedicated experts directed by a trained physician credentialed in critical care medicine (an intensivist). However, the shortage of full-time intensivists has necessitated that alternate models of staffing be utilized including the use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, hospitalist physicians, and residents and fellows in academic centers to assist in the management of ICU patients. The use of telemedicine has become more widespread to provide care to critically ill patients by intensivists remotely in ICUs that lack intensivists on site. Adequate nurse staffing is also a requisite. Finally, care provided by other ICU team members including pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and other healthcare professionals, along with involvement of patients and their families, can help to ensure that the needs of critically ill patients are met to promote best care outcomes. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. |
