Psychological Burnout and Critical Care Medicine

Psychological Burnout and Critical Care Medicine

While you are likely proud to be a critical care medicine (CCM) practitioner, does work routinely leave you increasingly drained? Do you feel resentful about requests for "futile interventions" and unwilling to absorb others'... read more

Alarm and Alert Fatigue in Critical Care

Todd Fraser, MD, speaks with Bradford D. Winters, PhD, MD, FCCM, about alarm and alert fatigue in critical care. Alarm fatigue is the desensitization that clinicians experience to frequent alarms, particularly those that... read more

Solutions to Alleviate Burnout

Solutions to Alleviate Burnout

A range of factors drives clinician burnout, including workload, time pressure, clerical burden, and professional isolation. Clerical burden, especially documentation of care and order entry, is a major driver of clinician... read more

Moral distress and its contribution to the development of burnout syndrome among critical care providers

Moral distress and its contribution to the development of burnout syndrome among critical care providers

Correlation between moral distress and burnout was assessed among all intensive care unit (ICU) and the step–down unit (SDU) providers (physicians, nurses, nurse technicians and respiratory therapists). Researchers reported... read more

Effect of Nocturnal Sound Reduction on the Incidence of Delirium in ICU Patients

Effect of Nocturnal Sound Reduction on the Incidence of Delirium in ICU Patients

The incidence of delirium in ICU patients was significantly reduced after implementation of a nocturnal sound-reduction protocol. However, reported sleep quality did not improve. A significant difference in slope in the percentage... read more

My ICU Patient Lived. Is That Enough?

My ICU Patient Lived. Is That Enough?

As many as one in three patients sick enough to require a ventilator might develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety and depression are equally common, if not more so. Others survive critical illness but... read more

Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in ICU Patients Receiving Enteral Nutrition

Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in ICU Patients Receiving Enteral Nutrition

Our results suggested that in patients receiving enteral feeding, pharmacologic SUP is not beneficial and combined interventions may even increase the risk of nosocomial pneumonia. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane... read more

Dear hospital administrators: Please value your amazing nurses

Dear hospital administrators: Please value your amazing nurses

Anyone who has worked in health care for any length of time, has seen situations erupt where nurses and administrations clash. I have seen this happen myself in many health care institutions, and almost every doctor I've... read more

Perceptions of Risk and Safety in the ICU

Perceptions of Risk and Safety in the ICU

This study drew on cognitive research, specifically theories of cognitive dissonance, psychological safety, and situational awareness to explain how professionals' cognitive processes impacted on ICU behaviors. Our results... read more

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Symptomatology in Adolescents Faced With the Hospitalization of a Loved One in the ICU

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Symptomatology in Adolescents Faced With the Hospitalization of a Loved One in the ICU

ICU experience is linked to anxiety and depression symptomatology in family members of patients. Minors may be forbidden from visiting. To bring practices in line with evidence, we determined the prevalence of anxiety and... read more

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce PICU Noise Pollution

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce PICU Noise Pollution

Substantial noise pollution exists in our PICU, and utilizing the pediatric delirium bundle led to a significant noise reduction that can be perceived as half the loudness with hourly nighttime average dB meeting the EPA... read more

New study finds stress levels skyrocket for family members of ICU patients

New study finds stress levels skyrocket for family members of ICU patients

New research by Intermountain Healthcare finds family members of patients in ICU have anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress lasting months. It's the first study of its kind to investigate the link between cortisol... read more

A New Awareness of Mental Health in ICU Patients

A New Awareness of Mental Health in ICU Patients

During the last decade, the field of critical care medicine has been undergoing a sea change, says Dale Needham, medical director of the Johns Hopkins Critical Care Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Program. It wasn't... read more

Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation

Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation

Being a doctor typically involves high-intensity, time-pressured working patterns. These can lead to sleep deprivation and fatigue, effecting doctors' health, well-being and performance, their safety and that of their patients.... read more