Jun 26, 2017
How important is the main daily ward round we do each day in the
Intensive Care Unit? Is the ward round in your ICU focused and
concise? Do you adequately communicate the plans you generate on
the ward round to the whole ICU team?
John Myburgh, AO, an experienced Australian intensivist, who
began his life and career in South Africa, is Professor of
Intensive Care Medicine at St George Clinical School, University of
New South Wales and Director of Critical Care at the George
Institute, Sydney. He has an international research profile and is
a Foundation Member and Past-Chairman of the ANZICS Clinical Trials
Group.
In this episode, John gives a very insightful commentary on how
much attention he puts on the clinical ward round as our key tool
in intensive care practice. We might do more than one ward round a
day but John says the main daily ward round is where it should all
happen. Where we try and think about how the patient, with their
individual characteristics of life and disease, is actually
progressing through their critical illness. Whether they are on an
upward trajectory to improvement, whether they are on a downward
trajectory that may lead to death, or whether they are stuck on the
flat “curve” which we often don’t have our eyes open to.
John also tells us to be careful of using too many “toys”
(machines) and focusing too much on the test results. And he warns
us that we are at point in the development of intensive care
medicine where we save the lives of more people, but forget to
realise that many of these have a greater disease burden from their
chronic critical illness than they did when they were admitted to
the ICU.
This podcast was created to help and inspire intensive care
clinicians to improve the care we give to our patients by providing
interesting and thought-provoking conversations with highly
respected and experienced clinicians. In each episode, Andrew
Davies, an intensivist from Frankston Hospital in Melbourne,
Australia, speaks with a guest for the purpose of hearing their
perspectives on the habits and behaviours that they believe are the
most important for improving the outcomes of our patients. Things
like bringing our best selves to work each day, optimal
communication, coping with stress and preventing burn out, working
well in a team, and interacting with patient’s families and the
many other health professionals we deal with on a daily basis. The
podcast is less about the drugs, devices and procedures that can be
administered and more about the habits, behaviours and philosophies
that can help intensive care clinicians to master the craft of
intensive care.
Please send any comments through the Life In The Fast Lane
website, facebook (masteringintensivecare), twitter
(@andrewdavies66) or by simply emailing andrew@masteringintensivecare.com.
