Walking From ICU Episode 103- Communication Is a Basic Human Right- Especially in the ICU

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 103: Communication Is a Basic Human Right- Especially in the ICU

This episode explores the value of communication in the ICU and the impact of our sedation and immobility practices on the basic human right of communication. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:38 This episode is dedicated to communication and the ICU. This has taken me a long time to publish in part because it is so

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Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

Kenneth’s Story: A Poignant Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

In my haste to convey the horror experienced by so many patients who have been sedated and immobilized in the ICU, the case studies I’ve published have not had particularly happy endings. So far, the cases I’ve detailed have involved either the patient dying, being traumatized by the delirium they suffered while under sedation, or

Learn More > from Kenneth’s Story: A Poignant Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

As an RN in the Medical-Surgical ICU at the hospital I work at, I began my interest in ICU Liberation through an Evidence-Based Practice project.

While I was initially grabbed by what the literature has to say about over-sedation and patient outcomes, it wasn’t until I discovered Kali’s Walking Home From The ICU podcast that a culture of sedationless ICU care sounded tangible. The group I worked with on the project was both inspired, devastated, and intrigued by the stories Kali illuminates on the podcast, and we were able to bring her to our hospital for a virtual Zoom Webinar, where she presented on the practices in the Awake and Walking ICU.

This webinar was an incredible way to draw attention toward this necessary culture shift as Kali shared stories of patients awake and mobile in the ICU despite the complexity of their illness. The webinar inspired our final draft for the new practice guideline on analgesia and sedation management in the ICU, and since then we have seen intubated COVID patients playing tic tac toe on the door with staff members on the other side, taking laps around the unit, performing their own oral care using a hand mirror, and most importantly, keeping their autonomy and integrity while fighting to leave the ICU to resume the life they had before coming in.

Nora Raher, BSN, RN, MSICU
Virginia, USA

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