IntensiveandCriticalCareNursing(2004) 20,77—86 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Intensive Care Unit liaison nurse: towards a clear role description Wendy Chaboyer a, * , Michele M. Foster a,1 , Michelle Foster b,2 , Elizabeth Kendall c,3 a Research Centre for Clinical Practice Innovation, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia b Gold Coast Hospital, 108 Nerang St., Southport, Qld 4215, Australia c Griffith University Logan Campus, Meadowbrook, Qld 4131, Australia Accepted16December2003 KEYWORDS ICU outreach; Advanced practice; Continuityofcare; Liaison nurse Summary InAustralia,IntensiveCareUnit(ICU)liaisonnurses,haverecentlyemerged asagroupofnursepractitionerswhosegoalistoenhancethetransitionfromtheICU totheward.Internationally,therehasbeenlittleuniformityintherolesorfunctions undertakenbythesespecialistnurses,afactorthathasmadeevaluationoftherole difficult.Inordertodevelopaclearerroledescriptionthatcouldbeusedtotestfor effectiveness, this paper reports on a qualitative study of the context, and activi- ties undertaken by the six known ICU liaison nurses in Australia. Using a naturalistic inquiry approach, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six ICU liaisonnursesbyoneinterviewer.Thematicanalysiswasundertaken.Systemdemands andprofessionalinterestwerethetwocategoriesthatemergedwithinthedomainof historical development. The structure of the role included its focus, practice guide- linesandprofessionalrelationsandreportingmechanisms.Theactivitiesoftheliaison nurseroleincludedstaffeducationandsupport;wardassessmentandliaison;patient careandsupport;andfamilyeducationandsupport.Byclearlyarticulatingnewroles as they emerge, opportunities arise for all professional groups to work together to assimilate,testandfurtherdevelopthedirectionsandactivitiesofthenewroles. ©2004ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved. *Corresponding author. Tel.: +61-75552-8518; fax: +61-75552-8526. E-mail addresses: w.chaboyer@griffith.edu.au (W. Chaboyer), m.foster@griffith.edu.au (M.M. Foster), michelle foster@health.qld.gov.au (M. Foster), e.kendall@griffith.edu.au (E. Kendall). 1 Tel.: +61-75552-8847; fax: +61-75552-8526. 2 Tel.: +61-75571-8279; fax: +61-75571-8286. 3 Tel.: +61-73382-1202; fax: +61-73382-1414. Introduction This is an era when terms such as evidence-based medicine, best practice and quality care are used dailyinclinicalpractice.Inspiteofthis,whennew technologies, techniques and therapies arise, they maybeadoptedbeforeabodyofevidenceontheir efficacy emerges. However, as Muir Gray (1997) notes, once these innovations become widely adopted, it becomes difficult to design quality re- search to test them because the elements of the intervention are difficult to define and control. 0964-3397/$ — see front matter © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2003.12.004