Intensivist

外科医生做手术。. A pediatrician treats children. 心脏病 cares for people with heart disease. But what does an "intensivist" do?

"Intensivists are physicians who direct and provide medical care in a hospital's intensive care unit (ICU), working with the attending physician of record and other staff such as critical care nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, rehabilitation services, social workers, case managers and especially spiritual care - as well as physician specialists," 博士解释说. Carmencita Agcaoili, Medical Director of the Intensivist Program at Washington 医院.

"An intensivist has completed a primary residency and board certification in a specialty such as surgery, internal medicine, anesthesiology or pediatrics and an additional two- to three-year fellowship and certification in critical 护理医学，”她补充道.

Launched in January 2008, the Intensivist Program at Washington 医院 currently has an intensivist available in the ICU every day from 7 a.m. 到晚上7点.m.还有一些晚上. On-call intensivist coverage is provided 24/7, and the 医院 plans to expand the program further to include additional intensivists on site around the clock.

”Intensivists” Improve Quality of Care in the ICU

Washington 医院's Intensivist Program follows the evidence-based guidelines for care established by the Society of 急救护理 Medicine (SCCM). The SCCM critical care model calls for a multidisciplinary team approach that has a well-documented record of:

• Improving patient survival rates and quality care.
• Decreasing procedure complications.
• 促进用药安全.

病人 in the ICU generally have life-threatening illnesses or conditions such as cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, strokes, severe trauma or 耐药感染. Agcaoili笔记. “因为他们。 unstable conditions, these patients must be monitored much more closely than patients in regular hospital wards. Studies have shown that having an intensivist act as the team leader in providing critical care definitely improves the quality of care for these patients."

Board certified in all three specialties - internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care - Dr. Agcaoili moved to 弗里蒙特 in 1991 and began her long association with Washington 医院. “这是我的。 community, and it is important to me to be actively involved in providing the best possible care for people in our community," she says. "I get a real sense of fulfillment in caring for patients who are fragile and are at a crucial point in their lives."

除了博士. Agcaoili, the Intensivist Program includes Dr. Vineet Kapur, who is board certified in both internal medicine and critical care.

"We are expanding our Family Assistance Program to help provide families with more information and to train the ICU staff in how to care for the needs of family members," she adds. “我们也为 doctors and other staff in the Fundamentals of 急救护理. 的类 have been very well received, and physicians have embraced the idea of 多学科ICU小组. 这真的是一个团队的努力."

The ultimate goal of the Intensivist Program at Washington 医院 is embodied in the SCCM's "Right Care, Right NowTM" campaign. “ objective is to provide the right care at exactly the right moment in time to achieve the best possible patient outcome," Dr. Agcaoili 解释了. “ intensivist-led model for critical care has become “金本位”.” It is focused on patient safety. 它提高了 病人的结果. It reflects the patient-first ethic of Washington 医院. It's the right thing to do for our patients."

For more information about critical care medicine and the role of intensivists in the ICU, visit the SCCM website at www.myicucare.org.