O cuidar especializado à pessoa em situação crítica

Abstract

This report is part of the Master's Degree Course in Nursing with Specialization in Medical-Surgical Nursing in the area of Nursing of Critically Ill Patients in the Institute of Health Sciences – Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto. It presents evidence of the internship and report module, which includes two internship moments: at the Intensive Care Unit and at the Emergency Department of a hospital in the northern region from September 5th, 2022, to December 16th, 2022. In general, the provision of care for critically ill patients should be based on a holistic approach aimed at optimizing all necessary interventions to safeguard the person's life, which is a focus of the specialized nurse. The specialized nurse is expected to possess and demonstrate scientific, technical, and relational knowledge based on experience, as well as a critical and reflective perspective on new situations. Therefore, the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge and the development of specialized nursing skills in the area of critically ill patients will enable nurses to practice more autonomously, improve daily care practice, develop expertise in this area, and adapt to a constantly changing and evolving environment. This document describes all the activities carried out during the two internship moments, in the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department, with a view to acquiring technical, human, and scientific skills as a future Master's level and specialized nurse. During the internship, it was possible to propose a project to improve patient safety in the application of the Arterial Catheter in the Emergency Department in agreement with the supervising nurse, as well as to conduct a study on effective communication through the ISBAR technique. This study aimed to investigate the opinion of nurses about the use and benefits of the ISBAR technique during shift change in the Intensive Care Unit and contribute relevant data supported by scientific evidence for both contexts. Structurally, the report begins with an introduction and then covers the second chapter dedicated to the development journey during the first year of the course in an extra-hospital emergency context, which served as a differentiating basis for the remaining internships. The third chapter analyzes the acquired competencies and contextualizes the different internship locations, critically analyzing the competencies acquired in each domain of the Common Competencies of the Specialized Nurse. Each domain describes the activities developed, which allowed the achievement of specific objectives in each service. Finally, a global reflection on the journey is presented in the conclusion. To carry out this report, a critical-reflexive methodology was used, based on bibliographic research with the aim of describing and justifying the path taken to acquire specialized knowledge and skills in the course.

Date of Award	29 Jun 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sílvia Patrícia Fernandes Coelho (Supervisor)