The Journal of the Intensive Care Society Case Discussion Series

This June marked the 50th birthday of the Intensive Care Society (ICS) and the evolution of an unprecedented global pandemic. Over the last decade, the landscape of intensive care in the United Kingdom (UK) has changed significantly. This has necessitated the development of an independent Intensive Care Medicine training programme and curriculum, fostering the acquisition of skills essential to delivering excellent patient care and the supporting Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FFICM) examination. This programme has ensured that the training delivered is effective and aligned to the continuing changes in clinical practice.

Coupled with this, we have seen the number of intensive care doctors in training increase, leading to a rapid expansion in the scale of training. Meanwhile, the creation of ‘Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services’ (GPICS), ¹ outlining planning, commissioning and delivery of adult critical care services in the UK and the development of the Steps framework for adult critical care nurses ² training programme have set new benchmarks in intensive care provision in the UK. The management of severely ill or injured patients requires the cooperation of multiple specialties. Doctors, intensive care nurses, advanced critical care practitioners (ACCPs), pharmacists, dieticians and supporting healthcare professionals, who deliver this care, need to integrate the patients’ clinical condition with the pathophysiology of the disease. In this respect, the greater intensive care multidisciplinary team has also made significant inroads in allied health professional development and training.

The intensive care community has always appreciated the importance of training, and we have benefited significantly from the support and educational opportunities provided by our sister specialties and professions. However, it is also right to acknowledge the need to develop our own specialised educational content targeted specifically at topics for the intensive care professional. In furtherment of this goal, The Journal of the Intensive Care Society is delighted to announce the introduction of a regular case discussion series for the multi-disciplinary intensive care team.

Written by and for the multidisciplinary team, these will provide an opportunity to demonstrate and disseminate real-world experiences and knowledge enabling all learners to move forward towards greater expertise. Over time, we hope this will develop into a unique body of reference and high-quality learning outcomes specific to UK ICM training and development needs that will remain current in the coming years.

We welcome submissions for relevant topics in this case discussion series. Each article will feature an example hypothetical case (not actual cases or case reports) with a presentation of an illness or disorder pertaining to intensive care. The article will discuss and explore current management strategies and best practice examples. Naturally, no article can ever be exhaustive, and hence the case discussions will also be supported by podcasts and webinars that will explore the complementary subject material further by inviting experts to supplement the published discussion.

We hope you will find the series both educational and insightful. Through encouraging future contributions, informed by robust evidence, we look forward to jointly sharing our and your learning in these high‐quality submissions.