The many faces of critical care: history, present and future

Abstract

[...] Critical care is much more than a healthcare discipline: it is a crossroads between advanced technology, timely decisions and humanity that can never be put on the back burner. In intensive care units, emergency rooms, resuscitation rooms and on the street, nurses face scenarios every day where life and death hang in the balance. Every intervention in critical care can become a race against time. Staff must master cutting-edge equipment, apply complex protocols and make decisions, sometimes in a matter of seconds. But the technical aspect, however essential, is only part of the picture. Behind every beeping monitor, behind every emergency manoeuvre, there is a patient, a person with a history and emotions. [...]

Keywords

• Assistenza in area critica
• assistenza infermieristica
• area critica