Worldwide overview of critical care nursing organizations and their activities

The Fifth International Survey of Critical Care Nursing Organizations: Implications for Policy

Purpose

To examine the activities, concerns, and expectations of critical care nurses and professional critical care nursing organizations worldwide.

Design

A descriptive survey methodology was used. This study is the fifth worldwide quadrennial review of its type to monitor variations in critical care nursing needs and provide robust evidence to inform policy related to critical care nursing practice.

Methods

The fifth World Federation of Critical Care Nurses international survey of critical care nursing organizations was emailed to potential participants from countries with critical care nursing organizations or known critical care nurse leaders. Data were collected online. Responses were entered into SPSS version 23 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and analyzed by geographical region and national wealth group.

Findings

Eighty‐two national representative respondents participated in the survey, of whom two thirds (n = 56, 68%) had an established critical care nursing organization in their country. The five most important issues identified were working conditions, teamwork, staffing levels, the need for formal practice guidelines and competencies, and wages. The top five critical care nursing organization services that were considered to be of most importance were professional representation, as well as provision of workshops and education forums, national conferences, practice standards and guidelines, and local conferences. The most important contributions expected from the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses were standards for clinical practice and professional practice, international conferences, professional representation, and study and education grants.

Conclusions

The results highlight priority areas for critical care nursing and reinforce the need to address factors that can inform critical care nursing policy and practice. Results of this survey should be incorporated into strategic action plans at the national and international levels.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing leaders, policymakers, and other interested stakeholders should consider these findings when planning critical care workforce requirements. Interested parties should work collaboratively to inform recommendations for further policy and action.

Critical care nursing organizations and activities: a fourth worldwide review

AIM

To examine the activities and concerns of critical care nurses and professional critical care nursing organizations around the world and to identify expectations held of nursing leaders and policy makers to help address their concerns.

BACKGROUND

This study is the fourth worldwide review of its type. Previous surveys were undertaken in 2001, 2005 and 2009.

METHODS

An online descriptive survey was emailed to 88 potential participants from countries with critical care nursing organizations or known critical care nursing leaders. Responses were downloaded into Survey Monkey™ (Version 22) and analysed by geographical region and income level.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine respondents from 58 countries completed the questionnaire, of whom 43 had critical care nursing organizations established in their countries and 29 were members of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses. The services provided by the organizations to be of most value were national conferences, website, professional representation, and practice standards and guidelines. Professional policies had been developed by some organizations on workforce, education and practice, while almost half provided their members with either a newsletter or journal. Collectively, the most important issues for critical care nurses were working conditions, provision of formal practice guidelines and competencies, staffing levels and access to quality education programmes.

CONCLUSIONS

Important issues continue to challenge the specialty of critical care nursing as new developments, priorities, clinical issues and other global events and influences impact critical care nursing worldwide.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

This study will help guide nursing leaders and policy makers to address the needs of critical care nurses and their patients. Collaborative approaches between the specialty, nursing leaders and health policy advisors will assist to inform appropriate change in areas recommended for further action.

Notes on critical care-review of seminal management and leadership papers in the United Kingdom

Review of recent critical care provision reveals substantial changes in clinical unit operating, and policy drivers influencing international critical care delivery. Practitioners who have worked in healthcare environments over this time, will have witnessed substantial shifts in healthcare policy, changes in professional body guidance and greater service evaluation have impacted on critical care management and leadership. This paper offers a personal perspective on seminal management and leadership papers published in the critical care literature over the past decade. Presenting a range of national and international work that utilise diverse approaches, ten key papers are highlighted that have impacted in the United Kingdom setting. Through this, the influence of the modernisation agenda, the increasing significance of outcome studies, and the need for flexible, interdependent practice emerges. A key message to surface from this paper is the need for all in critical care to engage with, and understand the wider implications of management and leadership change for critical care delivery.

Research priorities for Australian critical care nurses: do we need them?

The development of research priorities for critical care nurses has been previously examined from the perspective of both Australian and international critical care nursing experts. A variety of techniques have been used to determine research priorities for critical care nursing, however, a clear articulation of research priorities for Australian critical care nurses, which are both timely and encompass all aspects of critical care nursing practice, is lacking. Research priorities previously determined in Australia and elsewhere identify similar clinical research priorities such as nutritional support, infection control, supporting respiratory and cardiac function, and follow-up of critically ill patients. However, differences between the few available studies exist, possibly because of the changing nature of critical care nursing practice. Despite the identification of research priorities for critical care nursing in the past, there is little evidence to demonstrate a direct effect on research output in these areas. Future development of research priorities for Australian critical care nurses needs to be carefully considered. It is essential that identification of such research priorities be done within the context of their intended use.

Critical care nursing organizations and activities--a second worldwide review

BACKGROUND

This study is the second world survey of critical care nursing organizations (CCNOs). The first survey was undertaken 6 years ago and data were collected from 23 countries over a 2-year period. The aim of the second survey was to profile the issues and activities of critical care nurses and their professional organizations, expanding on the previous survey to obtain both an update of the issues and a wider global perspective.

METHODS

A descriptive survey was emailed to 80 potential responding countries with recognized CCNOs or nursing leaders. Responses were analysed descriptively by geographical region.

RESULTS

A total of 51 respondents completed the questionnaire over a 6-month period, achieving a return rate of 64%. The most common issues identified by critical care nurses were staffing levels and teamwork. Other important issues included wages, working conditions and access to quality educational programmes. The respondents perceived national conferences, professional representation, standards for educational courses, provision of a website, and educational workshops and forums as the five most important activities that should be provided for critical care nurses by national CCNOs.

CONCLUSIONS

Workforce and education issues remain dominant themes among critical care nurses of the world. These issues have changed very little in the last 6 years. Using the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses network of regional CCNOs and critical care nursing leaders has proven to be a successful strategy for the collection of data on world issues and for international communication and support.

Consensus forum: worldwide guidelines on the critical care nursing workforce and education standards

This article explores the key themes, evidence, and arguments that inform the current position statements. It is acknowledged that future research, evidence, and practice experience may create the need to review and change these guidelines. Reform and refinement of the guidelines are inevitable; however, the current guidelines represent the best attempt yet to reach international consensus on what are appropriate standards to guide critical care nursing education and workforce requirements.