Winter 2022: Small Steps to Improving Quality of Life in the CICU
PCICS Leadership
Small Steps to Improving the Quality of Life in the CICU
Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity. ~ Hippocrates Eight months ago, I walked into the hospital for a routine induction of labor. Ten days later, I walked out with a new c-section scar, a bag full of anti-hypertensives, and without my son, who remained in the NICU after…
Executive Message February 2022
Happy holidays and new year to all – I hope that everyone had a nice holiday season and was able to spend time with family and friends. The recent COVID surge has certainly added additional stress to an already challenging healthcare environment and ensuring time away from work to decompress and rejuvenate is so important….
Editorials
Guest Editorial: Ollie’s Branch – Putting the Heart Back in Healthcare
Ollie was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (CHD) three days after he was born. For 13 months my husband, Mark, and I fought alongside him until a series of unfortunate events in January 2013. Ollie sustained complete brain and brain stem damage due to complications originating from his CHD. I stared at the x-ray…
Guest Editorial: You Made Me Feel Human
“You made me feel human;” a mother once wrote in a letter to me after her daughter’s death. I had been a clinical nurse specialist in the CICU during her daughter’s hospitalization. Her daughter was born prematurely with a complete heart block and was being temporarily paced until she grew big enough to receive a…
Guest Editorial: Growing up in the CCU: Supporting Families Through the Long Haul
“The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic, or hospital” – Mark Hyman In October of 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) jointly declared a national emergency in children’s mental health. This crisis has been…
Guest Editorial: Have a heart! Address delirium and early mobility for every kid, every day!
What do delirium and early mobilization in the pediatric CICU have in common? That sounds like the start of a bad joke! However, these two integral components of the ICU Liberation Bundle are often the last to be implemented and consistently practiced in pediatric units. The ICU Liberation Bundle, also known as the ABCDEF bundle,…
Committees and SIGs
Connections Committee Update – Winter 2022
Happy new year to all! I am happy to write my first committee update as…
PCICS Special Interest Groups
The Society extends its appreciation to Louise Callow, MSN, CPNP and Sandra Staveski, PhD, CPNP-AC…
Quality Improvement and Safety (QI-S) Committee Update
Our PCICS Quality Improvement and Safety (QI-S) Committee continues to look forward to upcoming initiatives…