Fire and safety codes in unit design.

Abstract

There's probably at least one part of your unit's design that plagues you: a door that “shouldn't be there;” a wall that comes out too far; a blind corner, perhaps, that's just waiting to make a crash cart live up to its name. Before you blame the architect, remember that any design has to compromise among competing factors: the staff, the patients, the budget and the physical limitations of the hospital, to name a few. Most of these factors are apparent to the critical care nurse, but one less obvious consideration is the need to comply with the abundance of national and local building codes.