Nursing in Critical Care Setting: An Overview from Basic to Sensitive Outcomes

This book provides essential insights into how the approach to nursing care in ICU patients has markedly changed over recent years. It shows how the focus has progressively moved away from the technical approach that characterized early ICUs to a wider personalization of patient care that also highlights general problems such as basic hygiene and general comfort. It also demonstrates that, at the same time, the nurses' role has become more professionalized, with increasing competences in assessing and managing patients' problems and measuring related outcomes. It is structured in four units: Unit 1 presents the essential elements of accurate vital-function and basic-needs assessments for ICU patients, using both instrumental monitoring and specially validated assessment tools. Unit 2 addresses basic care in ICU patients, particularly hygiene and mobilization, reflecting recent developments in nursing that focus on the importance of these activities. Unit 3 highlights the main nursing outcomes in ICU patients, particularly focusing on risk prevention and complication management. Lastly, Unit 4 discusses advances in ICU nursing, from clinical, organizational and research perspectives. 

Stefano Bambi (RN, MSN) is a PhD candidate in nursing science at the University of Firenze, Italy. He was graduated in 1995, and has been working as staff nurse in emergency department for about 10 years. Since 2008, he is working as staff nurse in intensive care unit. He was formerly lecturer in Emergency and Critical Care Nursing at Nursing Bachelor and other universitary courses in Florence. He was (invited) speaker in several conferences. He is an author of several nursing papers published in national and international journals.

Gian Domenico Giusti (RN, MSN) is staff nurse in Intensive Care Unit at Perugia Hospital. He is Lecturer in Critical Care at School of Nursing, Perugia University of Medicine, Italy. He is member of National Board of Aniarti (Italian Critical Care Nurses Associations) and member of Editorial Board of  “Scenario. Il nursing nella sopravvivenza” (Off