Improving the quality of nursing cares in ICUs using health care protocols

Information for nursing staff, 2024, 56(3), 11-19.

V. Lalova

Department of Nursing, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University – Plovdiv

Abstract. The first intensive care unit (resuscitation) was created at the end of 1950 in Copenhagen by the anesthesiologist Björn Ibsen, as part of the specialty of emergency medicine and its development began gradually, at a rapid pace. Over the time, intensive care units occupy an increasingly important place as an essential part of medical facilities around the world. In Bulgaria, there are no official documents that regulate the algorithms for performing the various activities in the field of daily health care provided by nurses in the intensive care unit. Only the so-called medical work standards that support the development and implementation of clinical health care protocols for the work of nurses, aiming to facilitate their daily activities, improve outcomes and the safety of patients and all staff are established. The quality of nursing can be enhanced through the use of health care protocols. Following this concept, the role of intensive care has been rapidly expanded over the past 20 years, especially since the emergence of COVID-19. With this difficult development process, it should be ensured that the goals of resuscitation care are effectively fulfilled in the future. Practice shows that working according to health care protocols is a successful method of conducting medical activities and manipulations, as it saves time for medical professionals. The existence of a system of rules for behavior in similar situations, in the form of clinical protocols, allows maintaining a certain quality of care, guaranteeing the safety of the patient and the successful outcome of the disease throughout the country.

Key words: interns, medical specialists, health care, protocols, intensive care units

Address for correspondence: Senior Assist. Valentina Lalova, MD, e-mail: valentina.lalova@mu-plovdiv.bg