The Definition of the Intensivist in the Era of Global Healthcare: 2024 Consensus Statement From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Defining Intensivist Task Force

Daniel Wu^{1

2}, Amy L Dzierba³, Enyo A Ablordeppey⁴, Todd Dorman⁵, Bin Du^{6

7

8}, Alina O Dulu⁹, Kyle Gunnerson¹⁰, Pamela B Holly¹¹, Johannes Jansen van Rensburg¹², Teresa B Kortz^{13

14}, Sarah L Livesay¹⁵, Javier Lorenzo¹⁶, Maureen A Madden¹⁷, Piyush Mathur¹⁸, Sheila Nainan Myatra¹⁹, Kathryn E Roberts²⁰, Gloria M Rodríguez-Vega²¹, Tamas Szakmany²², Ahmed Taha²³, Samuel A Tisherman²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Penn Medicine - Lancaster General Health, Lancaster, PA.
² Division of Trauma, Trinity Health - St Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, PA.
³ Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine, Washington University, St Louis, MO.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Beijing, China.
⁷ National Infrastructures for Translational Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Bejing, China.
⁸ Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China.
⁹ Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
¹⁰ Departments of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Internal Medicine/Pulmonary Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC.
¹² Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Busamed Paardevlei Hospital, Somerset West Cape Town, South Africa.
¹³ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
¹⁴ Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
¹⁵ Adult and Gerontological Nursing, Rush University, College of Nursing, Chicago, IL.
¹⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Palo Alto, CA.
¹⁷ Division of Pediatrics, Critical Care Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.
¹⁸ Department of Anesthesia, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
¹⁹ Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain, Tata Memorial Hospital, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India.
²⁰ Department of Nursing, Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, DE.
²¹ Division of Neurocritical Care Medicine, Hospital Menonita-Caguas, Puerto Rico.
²² Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
²³ Critical Care Development, Integrated Hospital Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
²⁴ Department of Surgery and the Program in Trauma, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

PMID: 39982148
DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006580

The Definition of the Intensivist in the Era of Global Healthcare: 2024 Consensus Statement From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Defining Intensivist Task Force

Daniel Wu et al. Crit Care Med. 2025.

. 2025 Mar 1;53(3):e548-e554.

doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006580. Epub 2025 Feb 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Penn Medicine - Lancaster General Health, Lancaster, PA.
² Division of Trauma, Trinity Health - St Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, PA.
³ Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine, Washington University, St Louis, MO.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Beijing, China.
⁷ National Infrastructures for Translational Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Bejing, China.
⁸ Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China.
⁹ Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
¹⁰ Departments of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Internal Medicine/Pulmonary Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC.
¹² Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Busamed Paardevlei Hospital, Somerset West Cape Town, South Africa.
¹³ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
¹⁴ Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
¹⁵ Adult and Gerontological Nursing, Rush University, College of Nursing, Chicago, IL.
¹⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Palo Alto, CA.
¹⁷ Division of Pediatrics, Critical Care Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.
¹⁸ Department of Anesthesia, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
¹⁹ Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain, Tata Memorial Hospital, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India.
²⁰ Department of Nursing, Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, DE.
²¹ Division of Neurocritical Care Medicine, Hospital Menonita-Caguas, Puerto Rico.
²² Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
²³ Critical Care Development, Integrated Hospital Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
²⁴ Department of Surgery and the Program in Trauma, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

PMID: 39982148
DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006580

Abstract

Objectives: The goal of this task force was to examine the 1992 definition of the intensivist, identify gaps, and initiate a path forward to define a concise and practical definition that could be applied globally.

Design: A modified Delphi technique was used to develop a revised definition and roles of the intensivist. We determined a priori that 75% or greater participant agreement for the definition and essential roles of the intensivist was required.

Setting: A task force consisting of physicians, a respiratory therapist, advanced practice providers, and a pharmacist that practice in critical/intensive care medicine, in various settings, was established with the goal of evaluating and revising the previous definition considering evolving healthcare.

Subjects: The task force participated in online questionnaires related to the definition and roles of the intensivist.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: The task force agreed on the following definition of an intensivist: "A physician who has successfully completed an accredited program or equivalent critical care/intensive care medicine training and maintains advanced certification (if available); and shows dedication to the area of critical/intensive care medicine in the way of professional work." Additionally, the task force determined a list of essential roles of the intensivist categorized into Direct Clinical Care, Unit Management/Unit Involvement, Responsibility to the Community, and Administration and Leadership.

Conclusions: The revised definition of the intensivist seeks to integrate the intensivist in the current realm of team-based healthcare. The intensivist is a physician who provides care to critically ill patients in collaboration with an interprofessional team. Establishment of a single, revised definition is intended to render clarity of an intensivist's role and responsibilities for patients, families, and the interprofessional team.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Wu disclosed that he is an ex officio member of the Council to the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). Dr. Dzierba is a member of Executive Committee to the SCCM. Dr. Ablordeppey’s institution received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (award number 5K01HL161026). Dr. Jansen van Rensburg disclosed work for hire. Dr. Kortz’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (award number K23AI144029). Dr. Livesay received funding from Ceribell, Stoke Challenger/Lombardi Hill LLC, the Neurocritical Care Society, and the World Federation of Intensive and Critical Care. Dr. Madden received funding from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the ad hoc member of Council to the SCCM, the American College of Critical Care Medicine Board of Regents, and Elsevier. Dr. Rodríguez-Vega received funding from Chiesi, LifeLink of Puerto Rico, and is a member of Council to the the SCCM. Dr. Szakmany received funding from Thermo Fisher and the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre; he is an Associate Editor at the Journal of the Intensive Care Society and the Editor-In-Chief of Critical Care Explorations. Drs. Gunnerson and Tisherman are members of Council to the SCCM. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest.

References

1. Guidelines for the definition of an intensivist and the practice of critical care medicine. Guidelines Committee; Society of Critical Care Medicine. Crit Care Med 1992; 20:540–542
1. American Medical Association: Excellence in Critical Care: The Intensivist Program in a Community Hospital. 2012. Available at: https://www.aha.org/case-studies/2012-02-01-excellence-critical-care-int... . Accessed September 2, 2023
1. Leapfrog Hospital Survey: Factsheet: ICU Physician Staffing. 2022. Available at: https://ratings.leapfroggroup.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/2022%... . Accessed September 2, 2023
1. Cigna Health: Critical Care Medicine Specialist. 2024. Available at: https://www.cigna.com/knowledge-center/hw/critical-care-medicine-special... . Accessed September 2, 2023
1. American College of Physicians: Critical Care Medicine. 2024. Available at: https://www.acponline.org/about-acp/about-internal-medicine/subspecialti... . Accessed June 28, 2024

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The Definition of the Intensivist in the Era of Global Healthcare: 2024 Consensus Statement From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Defining Intensivist Task Force

Affiliations

The Definition of the Intensivist in the Era of Global Healthcare: 2024 Consensus Statement From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Defining Intensivist Task Force

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical