I have a strong interest in acute care and technology, so the eICU is a natural extension of both. The eICU provides rapid delivery of real time information with the potential to drop long-term costs and improve patient outcomes; however, how long will it take before the initial overhead is…
My medical ICU rotation was profoundly eye-opening beyond words. I saw many patients teetering on the edge of life-and-death – some regrettably passed away while others literally walked out of the ICU. It was a reminder of the very real mortality we face as human beings, but it also served…
The medical intensive care unit (MICU) has been incredibly challenging compared to last month in ENT clinic; however, I’ve found the severity of illness, rapid clinical changes, and having to account for every part of a patient’s care (“closed ICU” model) to be an engaging test of my ability to…
This was easily my most emotionally challenging month of intern year to date. I watched patients receive life-saving organ transplants. I pronounced patients dead (and when I finally regained myself, I had to do it again… and again). I did bronchoscopies and arterial/central line placements. I worked with well-reputed physicians,…
One of the mantras my attending emphasizes with regards to critical care deals with the timing of our interventions. In critical care, there’s “a time to give and a time to take.” So what does this mean? Well let’s address a common scenario:
What a crazy first week! I felt like I was constantly writing notes, seeing a new consult, in conference, or walking between places in the hospital. I tried picking up tidbits of critical care knowledge along the way, but most of the time I’m a note writing machine. I’m super…
Well it’s time to start my sixth month of residency – pulmonary critical care (PCCS)! I enjoyed spending some time with my parents over Thanksgiving break and had a chance to wrap up a presentation for the first morning report of the month tomorrow! I also reviewed some basics about…
Now that I’ve completed my surgical ICU experience, I have a renewed sense of how pivotal teamwork is in the clinical setting. Coordination between pharmacists, respiratory therapists, nurses, and physicians was absolutely paramount in creating an ideal plan for each patient. It was also interesting to note the other parts…
I’m staring at a crazy patient census to start my second-half of this SICU rotation. :shock: Now that I’ve become acclimated to how things operate from a logistics standpoint (discharge criteria, admissions, trauma, etc.), I’m better able to gauge just how much longer patients will remain under intensive care. I’ve…
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how Sauron’s Ring of Power met its demise… not to mention any ring that needs to be removed in the SICU. :-)