[Bifocal model in the management of respiratory problems. Application in a critical care unit]

The peculiar situations involved in critical care need a complex and efficient team work. This induces very often an overlapping of different specific roles, due to the complexity of clinical situations. G. Buchechek and J. Mc Closkey define nursing interventions as every care treatment by nursing staff, including: nurse treatment initiated by nurse diagnosis, physician-initiated treatment, and daily tasks, defined as performances, for the patient that it is not autosufficient (Nursing interventions: Treatments for potential nursing diagnoses 1989). Thus, nursing initiative cannot be considered autonomous. The following manuscript represents a survey on nursing activities in respiratory care in a large hospital of the city of Rome, Italy, which follows the bifocal method of nursing care by Lynda J. Carpenito (1983).