Professionalism, Teamwork and Regulation in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the concepts of professionalism in relation to intensive care medicine. The intensive care management of patients represents the sharp edge of every speciality and the potential for miscommunication, conflict, psychological overload and burnout is large. The presence of a culture of trust between patients and staff, and between staff members is a major factor in patient outcome, staff recruitment, staff retention and motivation. As critical care morbidity and mortality rates improve, patient and staff expectations of an acceptable short-term and long-term outcome increase. To reach these expectations, healthcare professionals need to operate in high performing teams, with defined standards and objectives. We focus on key aspects of good professional behaviour, high-performance healthcare teams and the regulatory aspects of care in the high technology, critical care environment.