Percurso para o desenvolvimento de competências de especialização no cuidado à pessoa em situação crítica

Abstract

This report is developed within the scope of the curricular unit Final Internship and Report, which is part of the study program of the 17th Master's Degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing, specializing in Nursing Care for Critically Ill Patients, at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto. This curricular unit aims to provide opportunities for students to develop analytical, reflective, evidence based reasoning, and effective intervention skills in scenarios where critically ill patients are the main focus. Entitled Pathway for the Development of Specialization Competencies in the Care of Critical Ill Patient, this document aims to describe, analyze, and justify the process of developing specialized nursing competencies in the field of nursing care for critically ill patients. This competency development process took place during the final internship, which covered two healthcare contexts dedicated to critically ill patients: intensive care and the emergency department. This report is divided into three sections. The first section corresponds to the introduction, which provides an overview of the master’s program, the Final Internship and Report curricular unit, and its relevance within the course. The second section focuses on the development of the work, including a descriptive and critical-reflective analysis of the experiences gained, knowledge acquired, activities performed, and objectives achieved, supporting the process of developing specialized competencies in nursing care for critically ill patients. Finally, the conclusion presents a summary of the main contributions of the final internship to the development of professional and academic competencies, the challenges encountered, and future expectations as a specialist nurse and master's degree holder. As this is a master’s degree program in a specialized field, rather than just a specialization course, it is essential to highlight the academic competencies developed. These are based on the ability of the student to seek knowledge grounded in the best available scientific evidence and apply it to respond to various situations and needs encountered in clinical practice, ensuring nursing care excellence, where quality is mandatory. The provision of specialized nursing care aims not only to deliver the best possible nursing care to critically ill patients and their families/caregivers, but also to contribute to the dissemination of new knowledge derived from continuous engagement with scientific evidence-based practice. Therefore, grounding specialized nursing practice in the best available scientific evidence should be a continuous and motivated process, driven by the ambition for excellence in patient care. In this regard, throughout this journey, I embraced the opportunity to contribute to scientific knowledge dissemination by developing a scientific poster, presented at the 1st Congress on Intensive Nursing Care, promoted by ULS Gaia-Espinho; delivering a training session for the intensive care nursing team where I completed my internship; and developing a scoping review article, submitted for publication in a scientific journal. In conclusion, this journey has significantly contributed to my competency development as a specialist nurse in medical-surgical nursing, particularly in the nursing care of critically ill patients. I believe that the professional competencies, combined with the academic competencies developed throughout this program, form the perfect foundation for delivering high-quality, specialized nursing care.

Date of Award	29 May 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Carolina da Rocha Monteiro (Supervisor)