Critical care medicine deals with life support or organ support for patients who are critically ill. A critical care physician diagnoses, treats, and supports patients who may be in an intensive care unit, or who may have multiple organ dysfunction. Patients who receive intensive care treatment are usually critically ill patients who are treated after major surgery and require intensive monitoring. The critical care or intensive care physician may also communicate with the patient’s primary physician, other specialists, and the critical care staff to coordinate treatment and care.
Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are Trauma, cystic fibrosis, renal failure, Liver Failure, Post-operative Care, Acute Lung Injury, Serious Infections, Hypoxic Injury, Multi-organ Dysfunction, Circulatory Failure, Cardiopulmonary Failure, airway & respiratory compromise, Reversible heart & lung dysfunction, and hemodynamic instability.
Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including tracheotomy, endotracheal tube, mechanical ventilation, ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), passage of pulmonary arterial balloon flotation catheters, adial arterial catheterization, and establishing central venous access.
To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including Blood Test, Computed Axial Tomography (CT or CAT Scan), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).
Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Alaska has 12 practicing critical care medicine doctors. Broken out by city, critical care medicine doctor density in Anchorage is 8, in Elmendorf Afb is 2, in Ketchikan is 1, and in Palmer is 1.
Alaska became the 49th state in 1959, and Juneau is its capital city. Comprising 586,000 square miles, the population is 663,661. Also called the Land of the Midnight Sun, Alaska’s average winter temperatures are around 20°F, so tourism is active all year round. You can study Alaska’s native culture, take a dogsled ride, enjoy skiing, snowboarding, skating, ice fishing, or a sea kayak ride. Enjoy winter carnivals and festivals. Take a cruise to view wildlife, including humpback whales, pan for gold, or fish for Alaska’s world-famous King salmon.
According to 2005 Census estimates, Alaska has a population of 663,661. Of this population, 172,628 are under the age of 18 and 43,134 are at or above the age of 65.
Our mission is to improve the quality of healthcare. With our transparent, accurate, and objective provider ratings and expert advisory services, we are creating the standard for healthcare quality.
You are here: