Guide to strategic planning in critical care medicine

Abstract

Strategic planning is increasing in value. More organizations are implementing such strategies to help achieve their corporate goals. Strategic planning can help improve morale and satisfaction amongst staff, managers and stakeholders. It can help improve efficiency within the organization and ideally the quality of care as well. Most importantly, it helps an organization to focus and prioritize its goals therefore increasing its chances for success. Critical care medicine is a unique branch of medicine because of the high costs associated with care. It is reasonable to perceive that these costs will go up in the future. Our population is aging and our abilities to sustain life are constantly improving. ICU is also unique because it is associated with high stress for the patients, families, nurses, physicians and allied health professionals. Care is often associated with post-traumatic stress and burnout. For these reasons strategic planning is essential for critical care to thrive, provide good care for patients and to allow for efficient use of resources. There are several approaches to strategic planning. This article will look at the 10-step method described in Bryson’s Strategic Planning for Public and Non-Profit Organizations and how it can apply to critical care medicine.