Critical care, Trauma and Emergency Medicine

The Department of Critical Care Medicine was established in June 2019 as a separate Superspecialty department at RIMS to care for critically ill patients. It was based on a resolution passed at the GB meeting in 2018.

The department was started at the trauma centre due to infrastructure limitations in the Superspecialty block of RIMS.

Initial appointments included one professor, one associate professor, and three assistant professors. Three more assistant professors joined the department as trauma Critical Care faculty. So the total Faculty strength increased to eight. Currently, the department has one Professor, one Associate Professor and five Assistant Professors.

It is situated and working on the 2nd & 3rd floors of the Trauma Centre at RIMS. In total, this department operates nearly 60 beds.

Starting this department proved to be a boon for RIMS. A few months later, after its inception, the COVID pandemic began, and with the help of others, the Department operated more than 100 ventilated beds in the Trauma Centre and treated more than 7000 patients, thereby making a significant contribution to this pandemic.

Over time, the department started a PDCC (Postdoctoral Certificate Course in Critical Care), a DM (Doctor of Medicine in Critical Care), and a two-year diploma course for Critical Care Technicians. Around 10 students have passed PDCC, around 70 have passed the diploma technician course, and the first batch of DM Critical Care has also passed. This is the only institute in Jharkhand that offers the DM Course in Critical Care.

The department is equipped with high-end equipment, including high-end monitors, mechanical ventilators, syringe pumps, cardiac output monitors, dialysis machines, ultrasound equipment, bronchoscopes, and more.

Approximately 700 to 800 new patients are admitted to this department each year, most of whom are referred from other institutions. This department provides excellent treatment for patients who cannot be treated elsewhere within our organisation or at other institutions. The department has all the facilities required for different organ supports; most patients with multi-organ failure are treated excellently in this department.

Patient Management

At our institute, we operate a strictly closed ICU model, in which the Critical Care specialist serves as the primary lead with total clinical authority over patient admission, stabilisation, and daily management. This specialist-led framework ensures that every patient benefits from a single, cohesive treatment plan directed by an intensivist who is physically present and responsible for all life-critical decisions. While we actively collaborate with other clinical disciplines, our critical care team serves as the definitive integrator, synthesising subspecialty advice into a unified physiological strategy to prevent fragmented care or conflicting medical orders. By maintaining this specialist-driven oversight, we ensure that interventions—ranging from advanced mechanical ventilation to complex haemodynamic monitoring—are executed with immediate, expert precision, prioritising evidence-based protocols and high-fidelity patient safety as the standard of our practice.

Academic Activities

Bedside Clinical Teaching Rounds: This is the cornerstone of Critical Care education, where faculty lead trainees through a systems-based review of each patient. These rounds focus on History, physical examination, Clinical Findings, real-time ventilator waveform analysis, evaluation of investigative data, and synthesis of hemodynamic data into a daily management plan.

Other Academic activities are:

Research Activities:

The Department of Critical Care Medicine at RIMS Ranchi is distinguished not only by a robust academic footprint but also by a prolific research output of over 100 publications in prestigious, indexed journals. Our scholarly contributions span the full spectrum of medical literature, encompassing high-impact clinical trials, prospective observational studies, rigorous meta-analyses, and comprehensive state-of-the-art reviews. Beyond original research, our faculty has made significant contributions to medical education through the authorship of numerous book chapters and specialised case reports that highlight complex clinical triumphs. Notably, the department provides national leadership in academic publishing, with our faculty serving as Chief Editors of major textbooks in the field. This commitment to advancing the frontiers of critical care through evidence-based inquiry and editorial leadership ensures that our clinical practice is continually informed by the latest scientific advancements, fostering an environment of excellence for both patient care and trainee development.