Doctors heal, or try to, but as nurses we step into the breach, figure out what needs to be done for any given patient today, on this shift, and then, with love and exasperation, do it as best as we can. Critical Care takes... Read More

Work engagement counterbalances work-related stress reactions. The relatively high workload in ICUs, coupled with an especially heavy emotional burden, may be acknowledged as an integral part of ICU work. This workload does... Read More

In this updated systematic review, we were able to refute a relative change of 20% of mortality. The occurrence of GI bleeding was reduced, but we lack firm evidence for a reduction in clinically important GI bleeding. The... Read More

Most medical professionals agree that a nursing career can be constantly stressful. It comes with the territory of caring for those who are ill and injured. On an average day, well-trained nurses are more than capable of... Read More

Reducing the length of rotations in medical ICUs in half also reduces rates of physician burnout in half while additionally improving feelings of fulfillment, according to a new pilot study from Penn Medicine. The results... Read More

Doctors in the U.S. experience symptoms of burnout at almost twice the rate of other workers, often citing as contributors the long hours, a fear of being sued, and having to deal with growing bureaucracy, like filling out... Read More

Excessive noise in hospitals adversely affects patients’ sleep and recovery, causes stress and fatigue in staff and hampers communication. The World Health Organization suggests sound levels should be limited to 35... Read More

A Johns Hopkins-led study on sedation practices in critically ill patients in a resource-limited setting finds that deep sedation, agitation, and benzodiazepines were independently associated with worse clinical outcomes.... Read More

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... Read More

From ER and M*A*S*H to Grey’s Anatomy and House, the medical drama endures for good reason: we’re fascinated by the people we must trust when we are most vulnerable. In Also Human, vocational psychologist Caroline... Read More

Registered nurses are the backbone of America’s health systems, providing care and support to patients across the lifespan. Appropriate nurse staffing is critical to ensure safe and effective care for patients. Nurse... Read More

Both children and parents have alarmingly high rates of acute stress and posttraumatic stress following the child’s PICU admission. Although family function did not emerge as a predictor in this study, further understanding... Read More

The results of this study will inform ICU nurses about the effects, strengths and limitations of prompting relatives to author a diary for the patient. This will allow the diary intervention to be tailored to the individual... Read More