This episode is recorded with Dr. Kelly Casey, OTD, OTR/L, BCPR, ATP, CPAM. Who has been an occupational therapist in the acute care and ICU settings at The Johns Hopkins Hospital for the past 18 years. She is the Acute Care Rehab Therapy Manager for PT, OT, and SLP. She is the Director of the Johns Hopkins OT Acute Care Fellowship Program. She is also the Director of the Johns Hopkins Assistive Technology Clinic We discuss delirium in the ICU and the Occupational therapist's role in helping identify and prevent it inside the multi-disciplinary team environment inside ICU.

Having worked together at the Johns Hopkins Conference on Mobility in ICU we show in our discussion how patients and staff can work together to create a better outcome for all involved in the icu

All opinions expressed are solely those of the speaker and do not represent any company or institution with which they have a relationship or association with

This episodes guest is Dr. Wes Ely who is a highly respected and accomplished medical professional who has made significant contributions to the field of critical care medicine. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise, Dr. Ely has dedicated his career to improving patient care and advocating for the well-being of critically ill individuals.

Dr. Ely is recognized as a leading authority in the area of intensive care unit (ICU) delirium, a condition characterized by acute confusion and cognitive impairment experienced by many ICU patients. His groundbreaking research and innovative approaches to managing delirium have not only enhanced the understanding of this complex phenomenon but have also led to improved patient outcomes and quality of care.

As a professor of Medicine and Critical Care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Ely has played a pivotal role in shaping the field of critical care medicine through his expertise and mentorship. He has published extensively in prestigious medical journals, sharing his findings and insights with the global medical community.

In addition to his clinical and academic endeavors, Dr. Ely is a passionate advocate for patient and family-centered care. He actively promotes the importance of open communication, empathy, and shared decision-making in critical care settings, aiming to create a more holistic and compassionate approach to patient treatment.

You can contact me at ICU.Life.and.Recovery@gmail.com

I’d like to thank Dr Ely for being and guest and having a Frank

and open conversation with me

My guest this episode is Dr Julie Highfield a clinical ICU Psychologist in both the Paediatric and Adult Critical Care for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. She is also the National Project Director for Wellbeing at the Intensive Care Society as well as being a trustee for ICU Steps a Charity that supports the creation of peer to peer support groups for ex-patients of ICU, their family and carers.

Our discussion in this episode is a general one about Psychology from a seasoned professional in Dr Highfield and myself a person taking their first steps on the path to becoming a professional psychologist. It is an interesting discussion covering a range of topics including the role of and importance of the Psychologist in the ICU team to the patient and family and to the ICU staff. We also touch on the importance of good mental health and support for the staff. As we all know staff health is as important as the patient as healthy staff are able to provide the best care.

Please join us in this open and honest discussion from both sides of the ICU as well as both sides of the Psychologists journey. I would also like to note there were a host of technical issues that occurred while recording the episode and I hope you won't be able to tell they happened but I'd like to apologize in advance if there was any evidence left in.

Dr Highfield Can be found on Twitter @DrJulie_H

You can message me through the voice messages on the Anchor platform, @ICUlife on Twitter or email me at ICU.Life.And.Recovery@gmail.com

Talking with Nurse Practioner, Podcaster and my good friend Kali Dayton (of Walking Home from the ICU and Walking through the ICU) about the benefits of the awake and walking ICU model. We talk about life in ICU and the effects of 'treatments' in a patient's long term recovery. We talk about my favourite topic delirium and the things we do in ICU that risk increasing instances or duration of delirium.

Kali is a wonderful person who works very hard to improve the ICU environment for patients by reducing the practice of sedating all intubated patients and getting them back moving as soon as possible. The Old adage an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure really applies to her work. If you stop patients deconditioning then you don't need to put them through long rehabilitation afterwards.

Kali's link tree is: https://linktr.ee/Daytonicuconsulting and contains all her podcasts, her website if you wish to book a consultation and her blog

You can contact me through the voice message on Anchor or @ICU_Life on Twitter or my email ICU.Life.And.Recovery@gmail.com

My good Friend Dr Olusanya a POCUS ninja and I have an interesting discussion on why Point Of Care UltraSound is and why it is so useful in the ICU setting. We also chat about life in ICU the hardships of working in ICU and other important ICU topics.

Dr Olusanya is one of the kindest people I know, he always has time for his friends even in these tough times. It is hard in words to truly do justice to my guests as they all have been phenomenal people first. One of Segun's other main areas of focus that comes up in our discussions is Wellbeing in Medicine and his passion for helping colleagues is not just admirable but is inspiring. Segun is also a part of the Intensive Care Society where he is an associate editor of the Journal of the Intensive Care Society, an ICS Digital Committee member and an editor for the POCUS Journal.

And as if being a Dr in ICU, being super active on Social Media, Helping promote wellbeing in Medicine, Practicing and teaching POCUS as well as all his other roles and achievements inside the healthcare environment was not time-consuming enough he is also a part of his wife's (Fen) business Mon Annie a cake and confectionery company (Link will be below)

You can Follow Dr Olusanya at: @iceman_ex on Twitter

Mon Annie Cakes: https://monanniecakes.com/

You can send me a Voice Message at https://anchor.fm/icu-life-and-recovery/message

You can Follow me @ICU_Life on Twitter

or Email Me at ICU.Life.And.Recovery@gmail.com

This episode is an open and frank discussion with my best friend Dr Heidi Lindroth a Senior Associate Consultant Nurse Scientist at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. She is a Delirium researcher who is a part of the iDelirium team, a prominent member of the American Delirium Society as well as being one of the driving forces behind the World Delirium Awareness Day 36 hr education Webinars and video content. Dr Lindroth also remains working in the ICU as well as performing research insuring her knowledge is current and research relevant to the real world ICU environment.

Dr Lindroth's goal is to create a world without delirium, a goal I share and a cause that will require a lot of support and effort. In this episode, we talk about Delirium and have a productive conversation about many areas including Patients and family involvement in care, preparation and its ability to help reduce effects of delirium as well as contemplating if delirium is a singular or spectrum of disorders. Delirium is one of the biggest issues an ICU patient experiences in their ICU stay but it is a huge issue in Healthcare as an entirety. It is the reason why both myself and Heidi are so passionate about delirium and why we are working so hard to make things better for patients.

Delirium is a big part of the current COVID crisis as the isolation required for the infection and the hospital environment and it's after-effects have not been seen yet. Delirium is a large part of the ICU journey and recovery and is not so easy to bounce back from. I hope you enjoy the discussion Myself and Heidi have on the topic.

You can Find Dr Lindroth at: @MiniPixie26 on twitter

iDelirium can be found at @iDelirium_Aware and at http://www.idelirium.org/

The American Delirium Society can be found on Twitter at @AmerDelirium and https://americandeliriumsociety.org/

You can contact me through the voice message system through the Anchor platform, @ICULife on twitter or ICU.Life.And.Recovery@gmail.com

This is my explanation for why the next episode has not yet been published the reasons why and the plans going forward for new episodes. The next episode will be out soon.