[Certification of professional competence in critical care. Opinion survey]

This article gathers the results and conclusions derived from a survey performed by the Work Group of the SEEIUC dedicated to the development of the Professional Certificate in Intensive Care. The survey was carried out with the aim of obtaining the opinion of nursing professionals who work in Intensive Care Units, about the training and requirements which are necessary to work in these units. The questionnaires were sent to all the members of the SEEIUC and to a great number of mixed, surgical, trauma and coronary ICUs all over the country. Among the opinions which were collected, the following ones must be pointed out: specific nursing knowledgement is necessary to work in Intensive Care; experience is essential to acquire confidence and good command of the job; nursing professionals need mechanisms which help their professional development; and the Certificate Programme is accepted as a valid system which certificates professional competence.