To piggy back on the efficiency issue. I'm almost a year out of my crit care fellowship and doing admits/consults now, compared to an IM PGY1 or 2 is a totally different ball game. By the time you get out of residency/fellowship you should have your own personal protocol/cook book on how you're managing common diagnosis. The "I already know what to do, so I don't have to think too hard" cuts down significantly on how long it takes.
COPD exacerbation? Sure... duonebs q4, solumedrol 40 q8, azithro, BiPAP PRN.
Decomped heart failure? Lasix, bipap/vent, nitro if BP is high (drip in the ICU... because ICU is full of easy buttons), ACI, continue home BB, echo, cardio consult per primary team's preference.
DKA? Fluids, insulin drip, q6 labs, more fluids. D5 when BGL under 200 or 250.
Want more efficiency? Make your own order sets. When I intubate someone I make 3 or 4 clicks and my vent power plan is in. It has my sedation (prop/fent), CXR, ABG, artificial tears, chlorhexadine mouth washes, and sputum culture already ordered. Also learn what short cuts you can make. I always order osmolyte 10ml/hr for my tube feeds. Why? First, tropic feeds alone gets most of the benefits of tube feeding. Second, the nutritionist is just going to submit a recommendation within the first 24 hours that I'm going to blindly accept anyways (assuming I'm happy with feeding the patient). So why spend time thinking about this.
Similarly, my hospital uses Cerner and we can have favorite orders saved. I have an entire folder for AM labs that are already defaulted to order for the next AM. So instead of writing out each of the labs and manually changing the date, it takes me 6 clicks for my AM CBC, BMP, Mg, Phos, CXR, ABG (CXR/ABG for vented patients).