Table 1 |
|
|
Key tasks in intensive care unit management |
|
| Directing (leadership, internal/external) |
Quality management: quality assessment, continuous quality improvement, error handling,
Morbidity and Mortality conferences, risk management, benchmarking, epidemiology and
infection control, technology assessment |
| Knowledge management: training and education (physicians and nurses), life-long-learning,
participation at professional meetings and courses |
|
| Effective communication: availability of communication technology, communication training,
practise of open discussion, communication with non-ICU partners |
|
| Research: research financing and resource provision, scientific discussion, scientific
experiments and clinical studies, report of planning and results |
|
| Medical ethics: patients' and families' advocate, teaching and discussion with ICU
staff, promotion of ethical awareness and behaviour, ethics committee, co-operation
with social services |
|
| 'Liason officer': patient and families, physician and nursing staff, hospital administration,
department directors and medical partners, regional and professional authorities,
and so on |
|
| 'Policy maker': ICU services, intra-hospital co-operation, healthcare policy, medical
professional policy |
|
| Staffing |
Personnel resources, staff education and promotion, staff psychology and motivation,
'corporate identity', conflict management, staff advocate |
| Planning |
Change and innovation management, intra-hospital cooperation and concepts, architectural
structure and ICU design, technology acquisition |
| Organizing |
Process assessment and improvement, negotiation with partners, improvement of intra-hospital
processes |
| Budgeting |
Budget planning, resource allocation and utilisation, cost containment, cost/effectiveness
assessment |
| Controlling |
Control of processes, time and resource use, of ICU staff atmosphere, of co-operation
with non-ICU partners |
| Visions |
Improvement of structural conditions and human and physical resources, intra- and
extra-hospital partners and relationships ('network') |
|
|
|
|
Strack van Schijndel and Burchardi Critical Care 2007 11:234 doi:10.1186/cc6108 |
|