Patients who experience the end of life phase include conditions that are prone to experiencing reversible dysfunction in various organs, or can be more life-threatening and require treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). End of life patients who are in the ICU have a prevalence of mortality that continues to increase every year. This is due to the impact of chronic to critical illness experienced by patients. The ICU is a room for patients who need intensive care/care because the patient has a critical condition and must be treated seriously. The ICU is a priority for treatment, observation, and therapy for terminal patients. The ICU is also included in the service department at the hospital where treatment and care are focused more on saving the life of patients in life-threatening terminal conditions. The nurse as a witness to every event that is sensitive and vulnerable to the life of the patient and family. It is the nurse who increasingly accompanies the patient so that they understand their needs.
In carrying out their practice, nurses are required to have competence in this field. Nurses as reliable care providers can provide competent care processes within the limits of professional service standards. As care providers, nurses help patients to meet the patient's basic needs. Therefore, in carrying out nursing functions, nurses are required to look at the perspective and provide nursing care as a whole because a patient has various elements that include a variety of comprehensive needs, namely spiritual, biological, psychological, and social.
Usually, the intensive care unit is supported by specialist doctors such as anesthesiologist, consultant intensity care, as well as a medical team that is experienced and certified in treating patients with critical conditions and requiring intensive care. In addition, the intensive care unit must also be equipped with medical equipment to support the patient's life. While the patient is being treated in the ICU, one patient will be managed by health workers from several multidisciplinary teams who have a special role in dealing with the patient's medical condition, one of which is an ICU nurse. ICU nurses will always provide continuous nursing care for every ICU patient.
In general, this intensive care unit can handle various chronic and critical illnesses experienced by patients who are being treated by Doctors in Charge of Service (DPJP) from various medical and surgical specialties. The existence of tertiary referrals in the ICU unit can usually be done from non-intensive care rooms, intensive care rooms, or high dependency units from other hospitals. The following are some examples of conditions that are usually treated by intensive care units, including:
Respiratory failure requiring a non-invasive or invasive ventilator.
Heart failure.
Acute and chronic kidney failure requiring kidney transplantation therapy.
COVID-19.
Pneumonia.
tuberculosis.
After major surgery such as hysterectomy, laparotomy, removal of gastrointestinal tumors, and so on.
Strokes.
myocardial infarction.
Sepsis.
Of the several conditions above, there are many more conditions that can be treated in the intensive care unit. In particular, patients with chronic and critical conditions which if not treated intensively can be life threatening. Therefore, the presence of this intensive care unit should not be a frightening thing for families and patients, but something that is full of hope for the patient's recovery.
REFERENSI
Pambudi, S. (2022). Gambaran Peran Perawat di ICU. Diakses pada