Intensive Care Medicine or critical care medicine is concerned with providing greater than ordinary medical care and observation to people in a critical or unstable condition.

People requiring intensive care include those recovering after major surgery, with severe head trauma, life-threatening acute illness, respiratory insufficiency, coma, haemodynamic insufficiency, severe fluid imbalance or with the failure of one or more of the major organ systems (life-critical systems or others).

It is generally the most expensive, high technology and resource intensive area of medical care. In the United States estimates of the 2000 expenditure for critical care medicine ranged from US$15-55 billion accounting for about 0.5% of GDP and about 13% of national health care expenditure (Halpern, 2004).

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Nursing / Midwifery News From Medical News Today

India To Provide Incentives For Medical Professionals To Work In Rural, Underserved Areas
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0700
In an effort to encourage medical professionals to provide services to low-income rural populations in India, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced an initiative that will significantly raise the salary of "doctors, specialists and para-medical staff" who elect to work in "rural, particularly far-flung and inaccessible areas," the Hindu reports.
Doctors And Nurses Facing Tough Choices
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0700
Doctors and nurses consider job security and the differences between primary care and specialties when choosing their career paths.The Business Courier of Cincinnati reports on an increase in nursing: "The recession has people craving a safe harbor, and nursing is probably the closest thing to it.
Washington State Nurse-Midwife Receives The Hattie Award, American College Of Nurse-Midwives' Highest Honor
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0700
Katherine Camacho Carr, CNM, PhD, a certified nurse-midwife, professor and assistant dean of graduate studies at the Seattle University College of Nursing, is the recipient of the 2009 Hattie Hemschemeyer Award from the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM.) The "Hattie" is ACNM's most prestigious award and was presented to Carr at ACNM's 54th Annual Meeting in Seattle.

Journal of Research in Nursing current issue

A commission into nursing; an insular exercise or a welcome opportunity?
Bishop, V. Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0000

A decade of improvement for cardiac patients in England
Quinn, T. Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0000

Cardiac rehabilitation research: new perspectives for a new century
Clarke, S. P Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0000


Evidence-Based Nursing current issue

[Purpose and procedure] Purpose and procedure
Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0000

[EBN notebook] A beginner's guide to probability
Thompson, C. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0000

[EBN notebook] A spotter's guide to study designs
Glasziou, P., Heneghan, C. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0000


Research in Nursing & Health

Pediatric nurses' thinking in response to vignettes on administering analgesics
Catherine Van Hulle Vincent, Erica J. Gaddy Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:03:00 -0000
Pediatric nurses are not administering available and recommended analgesics to hospitalized children after surgery. This descriptive study was conducted to examine 30 pediatric nurses' thinking - in response to case study vignettes - about pain assessment and morphine administration for children experiencing postoperative pain. Nurses considered numerous factors when assessing and managing children's pain, including pain level, vital signs, and facial expression. Nurses frequently relied, however, on behavioral and physiological manifestations, as opposed to self-report, when choosing whether to administer morphine. Nurses demonstrated misconceptions about pharmacokinetics and unwarranted concerns about the adverse effects of morphine. These findings partly explain why children continue to report high levels of pain after surgery and why nurses may not administer adequate analgesics to relieve children's pain. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health
Effects of coping skills training in school-age children with type 1 diabetes
Margaret Grey, Robin Whittemore, Sarah Jaser, Jodie Ambrosino, Evie Lindemann, Lauren Liberti, Veronika Northrup, James Dziura Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:42:00 -0000
Children with type 1 diabetes are at risk for negative psychosocial and physiological outcomes, particularly as they enter adolescence. The purpose of this randomized trial (n = 82) was to determine the effects, mediators, and moderators of a coping skills training intervention (n = 53) for school-aged children compared to general diabetes education (n = 29). Both groups improved over time, reporting lower impact of diabetes, better coping with diabetes, better diabetes self-efficacy, fewer depressive symptoms, and less parental control. Treatment modality (pump vs. injections) moderated intervention efficacy on select outcomes. Findings suggest that group-based interventions may be beneficial for this age group. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health
Research on the care environment: Celebrating signs of success, posing questions to advance future investigations
Bonnie Mowinski Jennings Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:42:00 -0000
No Abstract.

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