During COVID-19, we saw people scrambling to get Hospital ICU(intensive care unit) beds and even those who were successful in doing so did not have any guarantee that they would receive high-quality medical attention. Regardless of COVID-19, this is, unfortunately, a fact of life for the vast majority of patients. This Article aims to highlight the biggest challenge in a hospital ICU, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of this critical care environment. By understanding these challenges, healthcare professionals can work towards implementing strategies and solutions to enhance patient care and improve the overall functioning of the ICU.
According to Dr. Dhruv Joshi, Co-founder, and CEO of Cloud Physician, every human has the right to live a life that is both healthy and dignified and should have assured access to high-quality medical care. “It is a difficult path in a nation like India, where the continually expanding population and resources are strained to the fullest,” adds Joshi. “In a country like India, there is a lot of competition for resources”.
“The situation becomes much more problematic when it comes to providing treatment in the Hospital ICU. Because of this, the patient has to have regular observation and monitoring, as well as immediate medical attention, because every minute counts toward determining the patient’s prognosis.
The Biggest Challenge in a Hospital ICU: 6 Challenges
1. The uneven availability of specialists in intensive care
One of the biggest challenges in a hospital ICU is the uneven availability of specialists in intensive care. “India only has 5,000 intensivists or ICU physicians, and their presence is more or less saturated throughout the country’s metropolitan centers,” said Joshi. “This is according to media sources.” “As a result, the vast majority of the population has very limited or perhaps no access to these physicians.
Due to the disparity between demand and availability, very sick patients often have to travel significant distances, putting them at an increased risk of passing away along the way. In addition, there is a severe dearth of appropriate infrastructure as well as medical equipment, which further exacerbates the lack of availability.
2. The need for ongoing skill improvement
“The provision of critical care is a demanding and complicated process in hospital ICU, which requires medical professionals with the abilities to promptly diagnose and treat patients with complex conditions. It takes years for care providers to acquire these abilities, and it needs the constant presence of someone with this level of experience 24 hours a day, seven days a week; in a life-or-death situation, events may unfold in a matter of seconds.
According to Joshi the biggest challenge in a hospital ICU is, “As a result, constant upskilling is essential in order to provide physicians with the skills necessary to cope with the various issues that may occur during emergency situations.”
3. Less-than-ideal response rates and doctors’ feelings of exhaustion
According to Joshi, “the patient’s ability to get first-rate care is hindered by a combination of factors, including a lack of attentive monitoring throughout the night and poor reaction rates.” “The emotionally draining aspect of working in a high-pressure environment like an intensive care unit often leads to burnout among medical professionals,”
- Research in hospital ICU
- Intensive care unit
4. There has been very little if any, a study of the data that is accessible.
“Intensive care units in India have access to a large amount of patient data, which, if correctly analyzed, might contribute to an improvement in the treatment of patients. In the biggest challenge in a hospital ICU, the methodical examination of data collected in real-time may be of great assistance in avoiding crises in the Hospital ICU.
According to Joshi, there is a need for the study of data collected from populations in order to develop treatment regimens that are appropriate for our demographic. “In addition, advanced technologies analyze the particular data of patients in real-time, making it possible to anticipate and react more quickly to potentially life-threatening circumstances. This helps to avoid accidents and saves lives.”
5. Nurse Burnout
According to research that was conducted in 2017 by the RN Network, more than half of the nurses who are now employed in the nursing profession in the United States have either thought about quitting the field or are actively thinking about leaving the profession.
According to the findings of the research in hospital ICU, this is not due to the fact that the job is not fulfilling but rather due to the quantity of effort that is necessary. The syndrome that occurs when nurses reach this stage is sometimes referred to as “nurse burnout.”
Staffing shortages pose the biggest challenge in a hospital ICU, as the demand for skilled healthcare providers often exceeds the available workforce, affecting the quality and timeliness of care.
6. Compassion Fatigue
The biggest challenge in a hospital ICU nurses often only have a few patients under their care at any one time, in contrast to emergency room nurses. On the other hand, these patients often remain in the intensive care unit for a lengthy period of time and need round-the-clock monitoring.
It’s very uncommon for intensive care unit nurses to develop strong feelings for the patients they care for due to the proximity and frequency of their interactions with them. A shoulder to cry on or someone to confide in is something that hospital ICU nurses often provide.
Nevertheless, one of the drawbacks of this relationship is the amplified sense of loss that is experienced if a patient does not make it. Because patients in the ICU are often in such a fragile state, unfortunately, this kind of event is not unusual. Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress, is a disorder that may manifest itself over the course of time (STS).
Other types of professionals, such as attorneys, veterinarians, police officers, journalists, therapists, and survivors of catastrophes or trauma, are also susceptible to this phenomenon. Hospital ICU nurses are not the only kind of professionals who are affected by this phenomenon. However the demanding nature of intensive care unit nursing makes it probable that nurses may experience compassion fatigue.
Bottom Line
When we think of the biggest challenges in a hospital ICU, the first thing that flashes in our mind apart from the patients is the facilities it has. However, as easy as it meets the eye, there are various challenges associated with a hospital ICU. Since the patient’s health, sometimes his life, is at stake, doctors and the staff have to be continuously on their toes. We hope you will acknowledge these and many more challenges after reading this blog “Biggest Challenge in a Hospital ICU.” Have a good read!
