What Clinicians Need to Know About Awakening Trials
I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of awakening trials at first. During my first two years in an Awake and Walking ICU, we rarely initiated sedation, so the need to turn it off wasn’t a struggle for us. When sedation was necessary, we simply turned it off when we deemed it unnecessary. It
Learn More > from What Clinicians Need to Know About Awakening Trials
I’ve Won an Award for Best Nursing Innovation!
I am proud to announce that I’ve won an award for the “Best Nursing Innovation” in Nurse.org’s 2025 Best of Nursing Awards. This award, which highlights the Awake and Walking ICU initiative, is a triumphant recognition of nursing innovation, and all those nurses who’ve worked tirelessly over the years to develop these protocols and advocate
Learn More > from I’ve Won an Award for Best Nursing Innovation!
Episode 188: The ICU Revolution at Mercy San Juan Medical Center – Part 7 with Dr. Jodi Coates
When the harm of “normal practices” shifts the perspective of an ICU revolutionist and medical director, what is the next course of action? Dr. Jodi Coates shares how her personal convictions inspired her to lead her trauma ICU to radically transform their sedation and mobility practices. Episode Transcription [00:00:00] This is the walking home from
Episode 187: The ICU Revolution at Mercy San Juan Medical Center – Part 6 with Ginger Manss
What is the role of the critical care director in leading ICU teams to become Awake and Walking ICUs? How can directors use the evidence to win executive leadership support for their teams to have what they need to succeed? Ginger Manss, DNP shares with us her key role as senior director of critical care
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
Perception Versus Reality: Debunking The Myths About Medically-Induced Comas
By clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to this site's Privacy Policy. Your information is always kept safe.
