Box Hill Hospital, Eastern Health, Victoria, Australia.
Aust Crit Care. 2012 Nov;25(4):253-62. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2012.03.004. Epub 2012 May 5.
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Liaison Nurses (LNs) emerged as a member of the multidisciplinary team to: assist in the transition of patients from ICU to the ward, respond to the deteriorating patient in an appropriate and timely manner, and in some instances act as an integral member of Rapid Response Teams (RRT).
To identify the common core aspects and diversity within the ICU LN role across Australia and to determine whether the ICU LN hours of operation and the participation in MET teams has any impact on the activities undertaken by the ICU LN.
This descriptive survey of 152 Australian ICUs was conducted in April 2010. The Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) framework was used to develop the survey instrument, which comprised of four scales, education (5 items), collaboration (6 items), practice (8 items) research and quality (6 items) and a number of demographic questions. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation (SD), median, interquartile ranges (IQR) and frequency) were used to summarise the data. Student's t-tests and Pearson's correlations were used to test the hypotheses.
Surveys were received from 113 hospitals (55 metropolitan, 58 regional): a 74% response rate. ICU LN services operated in 31 (27%) of these hospitals. LN services tended to operate in larger hospitals with higher ICU admission rates. The median weekly hours of operation was 56 (IQR 30; range 7-157), delivered by a median of 1.4 (IQR 0.9; range 0.0-4.2) Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff. The median weekly patient visits made by the LN was 25 (IQR 44; range 2-145). The LN was reported to be a member of the Medical Emergency Team (MET) in 17 (68%) of the 25 hospitals that provided both MET and ICU LN services. The ICU LN activities were grouped under four key Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) domains: education, collaboration, practice and research/quality. Mean scale scores were calculated for each APN domain. The ICU LN reported being involved in activities associated with all four APN domains, and more frequently they were involved in education and expert practice during their daily work. Neither the presence of a MET nor the weekly operational hours of the LN service significantly affected the key activities undertaken by ICU LNs (education, collaboration, practice, research and quality).
Whilst many hospitals across Australia have introduced an ICU LN service, the staffing, hours of service, job classifications, reporting lines, referral processes and APN activities undertaken by the ICU LN, vary between hospitals, highlighting the diverse nature of ICU LN services across Australia.
重症监护病房（ICU）联络护士（LN）作为多学科团队的一员出现，以：协助患者从 ICU 过渡到病房，对病情恶化的患者做出适当和及时的反应，并在某些情况下作为快速反应团队（RRT）的重要成员。
确定澳大利亚各地 ICU LN 角色的常见核心方面和多样性，并确定 ICU LN 的运营时间和参与 MET 团队是否对 ICU LN 开展的活动有任何影响。
这是对 2010 年 4 月澳大利亚 152 家 ICU 进行的描述性调查。使用高级执业护士（APN）框架制定调查工具，该工具包括四个量表，教育（5 项）、协作（6 项）、实践（8 项）、研究和质量（6 项）以及一些人口统计问题。使用描述性统计（平均值、标准差（SD）、中位数、四分位间距（IQR）和频率）对数据进行总结。使用学生 t 检验和 Pearson 相关系数检验假设。
共收到 113 家医院（55 家为大都市，58 家为地区）的调查：应答率为 74%。25 家医院（27%）提供 ICU LN 服务。LN 服务倾向于在规模较大、ICU 入院率较高的医院开展。每周运营的平均时间中位数为 56 小时（IQR 30；范围 7-157），由 1.4 名全职等效（FTE）员工提供（IQR 0.9；范围 0.0-4.2）。LN 每周进行的患者就诊中位数为 25 次（IQR 44；范围 2-145）。在提供 MET 和 ICU LN 服务的 25 家医院中，有 17 家（68%）报告 LN 是医疗急救团队（MET）的成员。ICU LN 活动被分为四个关键的高级执业护士（APN）领域：教育、协作、实践和研究/质量。为每个 APN 领域计算了平均量表分数。ICU LN 报告参与了所有四个 APN 领域的活动，并且在日常工作中更频繁地参与教育和专家实践。MET 的存在或 LN 服务的每周运营时间都没有显著影响 ICU LN 开展的关键活动（教育、协作、实践、研究和质量）。
尽管澳大利亚许多医院都引入了 ICU LN 服务，但 ICU LN 的人员配置、服务时间、工作分类、报告线、转介流程和开展的 APN 活动在医院之间存在差异，突出了澳大利亚 ICU LN 服务的多样化性质。
