Episode 208: From Survivor to Revolutionist- an ICU Nurse's Reflections on Both Sides of the ICU Bed

Episode 208: From Survivor to Revolutionist- an ICU Nurse’s Reflections on Both Sides of the ICU Bed

Erika Breivogel’s journey through the ICU as a patient forever changed her as a person as well as transformed the care she now gives as an ICU nurse. In this episode she inspires up with her reflections of ICU culture vs. patient reality and what moves her to keep fighting the ICU revolution. Episode Transcription

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Episode 207: Elevating ICU Culture, Practice, and Outcomes Through Verticalization Therapy

What does verticalization therapy look like at the bedside? What does it take to get the entire ICU team engaged in optimizing verticalization beds? Jessica Cafferty, OTR/L and Jennifer Babb, PT, DPT join us to share case studies and insights into verticalization therapy in their ICUs! Episode Transcription [00:00:00] This is the walking home from

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ICU testimonialI stumbled upon Kali’s podcast midway through my anesthesia critical care fellowship in February 2021. At our institution, I got the impression that patients in the ICU either got better on their own or had a prolonged and complicated course to LTAC or death. In her podcast, Kali explained that LTAC was rarely the outcome for patients in the Awake and Walking ICU in Salt Lake City.

Their ICU survivors hardly ever got trached, PEGed, or sent to LTAC, and literally walked out of the hospital in condition as close to their previous health as they could be. Although the concept of using no sedation on ventilated patients was completely foreign to me, it made sense based on what I had read in the literature. I devoured all of the episodes from the beginning, many of them bringing tears and regret for my ignorance, followed by inspiration and hope in later episodes. Listening to her podcast has been one of the most profound experiences in my short, eight-year career in medicine.

After discovering the no sedation, early mobility practice at the Awake and Walking ICU, my focus shifted to bringing it to my own institution. I visited Salt Lake City in March to witness it with my own eyes. Since then, I’ve been in touch closely with Kali and Louise to learn the practical approaches to sedation wean and sedation avoidance for newly intubated patients in the ICU.

Mikita Fuchita, MD
Colorado, USA

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