Critical care nursing: A holistic approach

Abstract

The practice of critical care nursing has changed dramatically since its inception in the 1960s. Critical care nurses, more than ever before, must possess an extensive body of knowledge in order to provide competent and holistic care to critically ill patients and their families. Critically ill patients are no longer found just in intensive care units. Instead, they are cared for in the emergency department, in progressive care units, in postanesthesia care units, and in the home. Today, critically ill patients are liable to be older and sicker than ever before, thus demanding extensive knowledge to meet their complex needs. Advances in nursing, medicine, and technology; the rapidly changing health care climate; and the shortage of nursing staff and faculty are other factors that have come together to effect great changes in the practice of critical care nursing.