IntensiveCareUnit-HuttValleyDistrictHealthBoard.docVIP

Student Nurses Intensive Care Unit Student Name: Welcome to our Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We are looking forward to working with you! We hope that you enjoy your time with us and that you find it a worthwhile and interesting experience. ICU can be a foreign environment for students who sometimes feel a little ‘lost’ or unsure of what’s going on. This booklet provides you with information that will give you a bit of insight into our ICU and how we operate. The intention is to provide you with an opportunity to get the most out of your placement. Please feel free to ask any questions or seek clarification of things you are not sure about. We have a multi disciplinary approach to patient care. The team is made up of: Doctors (from primary team), Anaesthetic team, (Consultants, Registrars), Nurses, Social Worker, Dietician, Physios, Pharmacist and the Chaplain. We also use other specific services that are available when appropriate i.e. Maori Health Unit, Pacific Health Unit, interpreter service etc. Admissions to the ICU All potential admissions are discussed by the patient’s primary team with the on call anaesthetic registrar or consultant. (The Anaesthetic department authorize any admissions to ICU) The anaesthetic registrar/consultant then liaises with the nursing staff about bed availability and staffing. We are funded as a 4 bed unit but staff availability and acuity dictate how many patients we can take. Anaesthetic staff are available 24 hrs a day but aren’t necessarily always in the unit. They are always on site and can be contacted through the hospital paging system. Patient Management in ICU If the patient is deemed High Dependency they remain under the management of their primary team. If they are an Intensive Care patient i.e. ventilated or on inotropes, their care is taken over by the anaesthetic department until they are no longer deemed to be an Intensive care patient. Their care is then handed back to the prim