The image of critical care nursing: does it tell the whole story?

The nursing profession is presently at a crucial stage of its development in terms of the popular image it projects. There has been a tendency for nurses to emphasise their technical skills at the expense of the more psychosocial aspects of their role. Due to the highly technical nature of the working environment, critical care nurses are in particular danger of being viewed primarily in that technical light. This paper focuses on the image of critical care nursing held by undergraduate student nurses. The first stage of a longitudinal research project suggests critical care nursing to be a highly popular future career choice for students at the commencement of their course. Data analysis revealed that attraction to this area centred on the perceived emergency, life-saving and highly technical nature of the environment. There was very little emphasis on the more psychosocial aspects of the critical care nurse's role. The implications of this situation for the image of critical care nursing require serious consideration and intervention.