Category: Awake and Walking ICU Clinicians

Dayton Walking From ICU Episode 21 What We've Always Done Isn't Always Right

Walking Home from The ICU Episode 21: What We’ve “Always Done” Isn’t Always Right

Polly Bailey, ACNP, shares with us her journey to building an awake and walking ICU. Decades before the research and in a generation of paralytics and benzodiazepines, she saw a problem and had a vision.   Episode Transcription Kali Dayton So now you’ve heard about patients that’s been weak on the ventilator with high settings

Learn More > from Walking Home from The ICU Episode 21: What We’ve “Always Done” Isn’t Always Right

Dayton Walking From ICU Episode 14 Different Treatment Different Outcomes

Walking Home from The ICU Episode 14: Different Treatment Different Outcomes

If we treated patients differently, would their outcomes be different? What if patients never stopped walking during critical illness? In this episode, one ICU dared to ask.   Episode Transcription Kali Dayton For the past 13 episodes, we have learned about the mental psychological and physical suffering of survivors of prolonged sedation, delirium and immobility.

Learn More > from Walking Home from The ICU Episode 14: Different Treatment Different Outcomes

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

READ MORE TESTIMONIALS >

DOWNLOAD THIS VALUABLE FREE REPORT

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.

Dayton ICU Consulting
Creating Awake and Walking ICUs
Email: info@daytonicuconsulting.com

© Copyright 2025 Dayton ICU Consulting | Privacy Policy | Website by: eVisionMedia.ca
The information associated with Dayton ICU Consulting across all media platforms is for informational/ educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace professional medical judgment and does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between you and the authors. Information contained herein may be accidentally inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated, and users are to use caution, seek medical advice from a licensed physician, and consult available resources prior to any medical decision making. The contributors for Dayton ICU Consulting, LLC are not affiliated with, nor do they speak on behalf of any medical institutions, educational facilities, or other healthcare programs.