The white coat means something more to patients

The white coat means something more to patients

How do we choose what we wear when seeing patients? Is it by what tradition dictates? Do we need to meet our institution's dress code? Or do we just like what makes us comfortable? (Those scrubs sure are comfy — almost... read more

Failures in the Respectful Care of Critically Ill Patients

Failures in the Respectful Care of Critically Ill Patients

Care that is inadequately respectful to patients and families in the setting of critical illness is prevalent but does not appear to be associated with clinical characteristics. The incidence of such emotional harms is nuanced,... read more

Time-limited Trial of Intensive Care Treatment

Time-limited Trial of Intensive Care Treatment

In critically ill patients, it is frequently challenging to identify who will benefit from admission to the intensive care unit and life-sustaining interventions when the chances of a meaningful outcome are unclear. In addition,... read more

Effectively Expressing Empathy to Improve ICU Care

Effectively Expressing Empathy to Improve ICU Care

In nearly every intensive care unit (ICU) at every pediatric hospital across the country, physicians hold numerous care conferences with patients' family members daily. Due to the challenging nature of many these conversations--covering... read more

Establishing a Relationship of Trust and Care

Establishing a Relationship of Trust and Care

An admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) is often a traumatic experience for both patients and families. Although members of the critical care team are specially trained to provide care and treatment requiring close,... read more

Practicing Respect in the ICU

Practicing Respect in the ICU

In this episode, we discuss the practice of respect in the ICU. Our guest is Samuel M. Brown, MD, MS, a practicing intensivist and Director of the Center for Humanizing Critical Care at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray,... read more

Hidden Curricula, Ethics, and Professionalism: Optimizing Clinical Learning Environments in Becoming and Being a Physician

Hidden Curricula, Ethics, and Professionalism: Optimizing Clinical Learning Environments in Becoming and Being a Physician

The educational and social milieu of medical learning environments is a complex system of influences. Role models across peer relationships and the hierarchy of medicine contribute to the formation of professional identity,... read more

Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life

Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life

In our current medical culture, the old and the ill are put on what she terms the End-of-Life Conveyor belt. They are intubated, catheterized, and even shelved away in care facilities to suffer their final days alone, confused,... read more

Should doctors be required to inform patients of their palliative care rights?

Should doctors be required to inform patients of their palliative care rights?

I overheard a colleague admit an 84-year-old woman to the hospital from the emergency department for a sizable mass in her uterus — no doubt, cancerous. I pictured a frail woman who’d been suffering for a while and was... read more

Receiving a Letter of Condolence After Loss of a Loved One in the ICU

Receiving a Letter of Condolence After Loss of a Loved One in the ICU

This study describes the benefits of receiving a letter of condolence; mainly, it humanizes the medical institution (feeling of support, confirmation of the role played by the relative, supplemental information). However,... read more

Outcomes of Ethics Consultations in Adult ICUs

Outcomes of Ethics Consultations in Adult ICUs

Our review identified outcome-based assessment as the predominant measure used to report effectiveness of clinical ethics consultation consultations. In particular, clinical ethics consultation decreased ICU length of stay... read more

Monitoring ICU Performance-impact of a Novel Individualised Performance Scorecard in Critical Care Medicine

Monitoring ICU Performance-impact of a Novel Individualised Performance Scorecard in Critical Care Medicine

Patients admitted to a critical care medicine (CCM) environment, including an intensive care unit (ICU), are susceptible to harm and significant resource utilisation. Therefore, a strategy to optimise provider performance... read more

Factors Associated with Life-Sustaining Treatment Restriction in the ICU

Factors Associated with Life-Sustaining Treatment Restriction in the ICU

Few previous studies have investigated associations between clinical variables available after 24 hours in the ICU and decisions to restrict life-sustaining treatment. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated... read more

Ethics in the NICU: Principles, Methods, and Application

Dr. Mark Mercurio gives a basic review of some of the fundamental principles and approaches relevant to decision-making in the NICU. Adequate fellowship training in ethics and professionalism is essential so that neonatologists... read more