Just as in Life and Medicine, Time Is the Biggest Challenge in Writing

Just as in Life and Medicine, Time Is the Biggest Challenge in Writing

For Matt Morgan, writing is a means to relieve work stress and turn it into something useful. In his first book, which will soon be published with Simon & Schuster, he shares stories from the intensive care unit, one of the... read more

The Association Between Visiting Intensivists and ICU Outcomes

The Association Between Visiting Intensivists and ICU Outcomes

During a period of service reconfiguration, intensivists routinely rostered to work in one ICU worked in another of the hospital's four ICUs. "Home" intensivists were those who continued to work in their usual... read more

Caring for Critically Ill Patients in Humanitarian Settings

Caring for Critically Ill Patients in Humanitarian Settings

Critical care medicine is far from the first medical field to come to mind when humanitarian action is mentioned, yet both critical care and humanitarian action share a fundamental purpose to save the lives and ease the suffering... read more

Number Needed to Treat

Number Needed to Treat

Effectively communicating clinical trial results to patients and clinicians is a requirement for appropriate application in clinical practice. In a recent issue of JAMA, Zhao et al1 reported the results from a randomized... read more

Aid Tool Does Not Help Care Decisions in Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation

Aid Tool Does Not Help Care Decisions in Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation

Treatment decisions commonly have to be made in intensive care units (ICUs). These decisions are difficult for surrogate decision makers and often lead to decisional conflict, psychological distress, and treatments misaligned... read more

Medical Dispatchers’ Perception of Visual Information in Real Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest

Medical Dispatchers’ Perception of Visual Information in Real Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest

Providing medical dispatchers with visual information from the location of OHCA might improve their understanding of the OHCA-scenario, which might enhance communication, their ability to guide more bystanders and improve... read more

When is Patient Feedback Valid? Supporting Patient Feedback as a Catalyst for Change

When is Patient Feedback Valid? Supporting Patient Feedback as a Catalyst for Change

As part of the revalidation process, doctors must collect patient feedback at least once every five years. While it is encouraging to see patient feedback included in this process, questions must be asked about what message,... read more

Humanizing the ICU

Humanizing the ICU

In the midst of trying to correct organ failures, clinicians may neglect to carefully consider what the patient is experiencing: to be on the brink of death, be unable to speak, be stripped naked, have strangers enter the... read more

Poor Hospital Design Has an Impact on Staff, Patients, and Healthcare

Poor Hospital Design Has an Impact on Staff, Patients, and Healthcare

Many hospitals in which I have worked have struggled with finances over the last 5 years. There has often been a ban on capital investment on new physical infrastructure projects even extended to repairs in some circumstances.... read more

A New ICU Equipment Diagram… But is it Art?

A New ICU Equipment Diagram… But is it Art?

It is well established that the Arts have a clear contribution to make in the delivery of an improved healthcare experience for patients, service users and staff. Southmead Hospital (part of North Bristol NHS Trust) has a... read more

Would A Change in Nomenclature for ICUs Promote Less Aggressive Care?

Would A Change in Nomenclature for ICUs Promote Less Aggressive Care?

The term "intensive care unit" (ICU) was originally meant to refer to the intensity of the resources allocated to patient care. Today, however, ICU refers more to the intensity of the interventions undergone by the patient.... read more

The Patient, The Whole Patient and Nothing But The Patient

The Patient, The Whole Patient and Nothing But The Patient

In this short opinion piece, career and consumer advisor Belinda MacLeod-Smith challenges us to consider crucial elements of whole patient care, and how they can be impacted by limiting factors. Caring for someone with ongoing,... read more

The Social Media Index as an Indicator of Quality for Emergency Medicine Blogs

The Social Media Index as an Indicator of Quality for Emergency Medicine Blogs

The Social Media Index’s correlation with multiple quality evaluation instruments over time supports the hypothesis that it is associated with overall Web site quality. It can play a role in guiding individuals to high-quality... read more

The Power of Social Media in Medicine and Medical Education

The Power of Social Media in Medicine and Medical Education

Social media is changing the ways that patients interact with healthcare providers and the healthcare system. It is increasingly common for patients to use information technology to gain access to information and control... read more