Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
-
Clinical guidelines and care protocols are intended to provide information, based on an appraisal of the current best evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness, regarding therapeutic interventions for given conditions. With the establishment of the National Collaborating Centre for Nursing as a part of National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), it is anticipated that an increasing number of clinical guidelines that focus on aspects of nursing care will be developed at a national level. ⋯ However, they also introduce potential dilemmas for nurses. This paper discusses some of the issues involved in the development and implementation of clinical guidelines and care protocols in intensive care nursing.
-
Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Feb 2004
Comparative StudyThe needs of significant others within intensive care--the perspectives of Swedish nurses and physicians.
The aim of this study was to describe and compare the views of registered nurses (RNs, n=292), enrolled nurses (ENs, n=232) and physicians (PHs, n=79) working in intensive care units (ICUs) on the needs of the patients' significant others. The questionnaire used was the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI). Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. ⋯ On the fourth factor, ENs and PHs scored higher than the RNs. The professionals from surgical ICUs scored higher on the third factor than the professionals from medical ICUs. In conclusion, to increase the understanding of the complexity of the intensive care milieu there is a need for further research to illuminate the view of both the healthcare professionals' and the critically ill patients' significant others on their interactions with one another, for the purpose of increasing collaboration.