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 Alhambra is 2, in Anaheim is 27, in Apple Valley is 2, in Arcadia is 10, in Bakersfield is 10, in Berkeley is 14, in Beverly Hills is 10, in Burbank is 13, in Burlingame is 8, in Camarillo is 3, in Chico is 3, in Chino is 2, in Chula Vista is 5, in Colton is 1, in Concord is 1, in Corona is 3, in Coronado is 1, in Daly City is 6, in Davis is 5, in Downey is 2, in Encinitas is 1, in Escondido is 7, in Fountain Valley is 8, in Fremont is 4, in Fresno is 27, in Fullerton is 6, in Garden Grove is 5, in Glendale is 7, in Glendora is 6, in Grass Valley is 4, in Hemet is 1, in Huntington Beach is 2, in Indio is 2, in Inglewood is 2, in Irvine is 2, in La Mesa is 10, in La Quinta is 1, in Laguna Hills is 5, in Lancaster is 4, in Larkspur is 1, in Lodi is 1, in Loma Linda is 21, in Long Beach is 24, in Los Alamitos is 6, in Los Angeles is 136, in Los Gatos is 3, in Marysville is 2, in Mission Viejo is 4, in Modesto is 8, in Montclair is 4, in Monterey is 5, in Monterey Park is 5, in Napa is 4, in Needles is 1, in Newport Beach is 18, in Novato is 3, in Oakland is 25, in Oceanside is 2, in Orange is 34, in Oxnard is 7, in Palm Springs is 6, in Palo Alto is 32, in Pasadena is 18, in Pinole is 2, in Pleasanton is 7, in Pomona is 8, in Rancho Mirage is 5, in Redding is 17, in Redlands is 5, in Riverside is 13, in Roseville is 6, in Sacramento is 65, in Salinas is 4, in San Bernardino is 4, in San Clemente is 3, in San Diego is 79, in San Francisco is 100, in San Jacinto is 1, in San Jose is 26, in San Juan Capistrano is 1, in San Mateo is 5, in Santa Ana is 11, in Santa Barbara is 8, in Santa Cruz is 7, in Santa Monica is 17, in Santa Rosa is 13, in Simi Valley is 5, in Sonoma is 1, in South San Francisco is 4, in Stockton is 4, in Thousand Oaks is 4, in Torrance is 21, in Truckee is 1, in Visalia is 5, in Walnut Creek is 23, in Watsonville is 3, in West Hollywood is 5, in Westminster is 5, in Whittier is 6, and in Yuba City is 1.

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.