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, Serious Infections, Acute Lung Injury, hemodynamic instability, Hypoxic Injury, Reversible heart & lung dysfunction, Multi-organ Dysfunction, airway & respiratory compromise, Cardiopulmonary Failure, and Circulatory Failure.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including endotracheal tube, mechanical ventilation, tracheotomy, ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), establishing central venous access, adial arterial catheterization, and passage of pulmonary arterial balloon flotation catheters.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Axial Tomography (CT or CAT Scan), Blood Test, and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. California has 1,050 practicing critical care medicine doctors. Broken out by city, critical care medicine doctor density in Bakersfield is 10, in Baldwin Park is 4, in Banning is 1, in Barstow is 1, in Bell is 1, in Bellflower is 7, in Berkeley is 14, in Beverly Hills is 10, in Bishop is 2, in Brea is 3, in Buena Park is 1, in Burbank is 13, and in Burlingame is 8.

California’s population is 36,142,137, and it is America’s third largest and most populous state. It also claims the highest and lowest altitudes in the lower 48 states. The lowest point in the country, Death Valley, is also home to the nation’s highest recorded temperature, 134 degrees. Tourists flock to this state for its many outdoor activities and attractions, including Universal Studios, Disneyland, Rodeo Drive shopping, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, wine country tours, and California’s numerous beaches and parks. Los Angeles is the nation’s second largest city, but California’s capital is Sacramento. The giant sequoias in California’s forests are among the oldest living things in the world, and a redwood in the Redwood National Park is said to be the world’s tallest tree, at 365 feet. California achieved statehood in 1850, and was named the Golden State after the beginning of the Gold Rush in 1848.

According to 2005 Census estimates, California has a population of 36,132,147. Of this population, 9,308,563 are under the age of 18 and 3,827,038 are at or above the age of 65.