Teaching intensive care unit administration during critical care medicine training programs

摘要

The responsibilities of intensivists continue to expand with the emergence of a growing population in need of critical care support . Patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) monitoring have complex medical problems that frequently require evaluations from consultants and a variety of allied health professionals . Critical care specialists have the challenging task of integrating these recommendations into evidenced-based, cost-effective patient-care plans . These "non-clinical" decisions not only influence patient care but also have a profound impact on hospital budgets . For instance, critical care is responsible for approximately 1% of the nations' gross national product, 10% of the nation's hospital beds, and 30% of the nation's acute hospital costs . These data suggest that the day-to-day practice of clinical critical care medicine (CCM) should include managerial and administrative competence-attributes not traditionally taught in medical school, residency training programs, or fellowships [5-7].