Psychological exhaustion in professionals in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Abstract

Professionals who work in the Intensive Care Unit are subject to go through situations that demand mental and emotional control, in addition to their techniques and scientific knowledge of their area of expertise, these professionals constantly go through contexts and situations that lead them to stress, fears , raised emotions and situations of extreme exhaustion. This study aims to identify aspects involved in psychological exhaustion in professionals from Intensive Care Units. This is an integrative literature review, the research aggregated 07 studies, based on journals published in the PUBMED databases and the Virtual Health Library. In view of this, the physical and mental exhaustion of health professionals who work in ICUs is directly related to actions with a higher level of complexity and responsibilities, causing greater demands on the professional, since moral distress in end-of-life situations in a The ICU generates a feeling of incapacity imposed by their beliefs and internal conflicts, which will lead to direct patient care.