[Activities and staffing in intensive care units in Norway--still need of better registration].
BACKGROUND
Standards in Intensive Care Medicine were approved by the Board of the Norwegian Medical Association in 1997. Their purpose is to clarify issues of responsibility, accountability and management in intensive care units. It also gives recommendations on management, staffing, education and resources.


METHODS
In order to obtain a reference point for any future assessment of the impact of the Standards document, a survey was carried out, addressing work load, medical staff, and questions of accountability, responsibility and cooperation.


RESULTS
16 hospitals responded (76%). The results seem to indicate that medical staff in relation to work load is smaller than recommended. It also seems that junior doctors only to a small extent are present in the intensive care units during ordinary working hours, and consequently have little opportunity to learn from working with experienced colleagues. However, both conclusions, especially the first one, are not entirely reliable, as close examination of the answers indicate that important concepts concerning the description of work load and staffing are poorly defined, and that the monitoring of work load is insufficient.


CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that staffing and work load in intensive care units are still insufficiently defined and monitored. The training environment for specialists is not optimal.
Fredriksen
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Helsepolitisk avdeling Den norske laegeforening Postboks 1152 Sentrum 0107 Oslo. audun.fredriksen@legeforeningen.no
D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009664:Norway; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*