Critical care nursing organizations and activities--a second worldwide review

This study is the second world survey of critical care nursing organizations (CCNOs). The first survey was undertaken 6 years ago and data were collected from 23 countries over a 2-year period. The aim of the second survey was to profile the issues and activities of critical care nurses and their professional organizations, expanding on the previous survey to obtain both an update of the issues and a wider global perspective.

A descriptive survey was emailed to 80 potential responding countries with recognized CCNOs or nursing leaders. Responses were analysed descriptively by geographical region.

A total of 51 respondents completed the questionnaire over a 6-month period, achieving a return rate of 64%. The most common issues identified by critical care nurses were staffing levels and teamwork. Other important issues included wages, working conditions and access to quality educational programmes. The respondents perceived national conferences, professional representation, standards for educational courses, provision of a website, and educational workshops and forums as the five most important activities that should be provided for critical care nurses by national CCNOs.

Workforce and education issues remain dominant themes among critical care nurses of the world. These issues have changed very little in the last 6 years. Using the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses network of regional CCNOs and critical care nursing leaders has proven to be a successful strategy for the collection of data on world issues and for international communication and support.