[A portfolio for the development of a Surgical Intensive Care Unit into an internationally recognized reference...

This article describes the development and content of the portfolio of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. The first step was to evaluate clinical practice using a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis; development and trends within surgical intensive care were analyzed with a literature search. From these results, three areas were identified as essential for the development of practice: (1) best practice/best care, (2) research, and (3) development into a reference center. For each area, clearly specified objectives, outcomes, measures, responsibilities, and resources were defined and an extensive multi-year action plan was established. Best Practice/Best Care consisted of the improvement of performance and patient outcomes, the support and promotion of personnel, and the implementation of evidence-based nursing practice. Combining Best Practice/Best Care with the goals and measures of the second area, Research, formed the basis for realizing the vision of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit to become "a nationally and internationally recognized reference center for surgical intensive care for defined topics and patient groups." Concrete strategies for achieving this goal were established in the third area.