May Is Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month
Awareness
Critical Care Awareness
The ACCP commends its members and other dedicated professionals who care for critically ill patients around the world. In honor of their efforts, May has been designated National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month. This observance acknowledges the dedication and commitment that critical care teams demonstrate while continually caring for patients and their families.
With a large membership of critical care physicians, the ACCP is committed to the areas of critical and intensive care medicine. Through the ACCP Critical Care Institute, the ACCP offers many resources, ranging from education courses and products to patient care programs and partnering opportunities.
To further broaden its outreach and effectiveness on key issues, the ACCP has partnered with other leading critical care organizations to form the Critical Care Collaborative, Critical Care Workforce Partnership, and the Task Force for Mass Critical Care. Through these partnerships, the ACCP has spearheaded new critical care workforce legislation and developed a new framework for caring for the critically ill and injured during mass casualty events.
The ACCP encourages you to show your support and appreciation by making National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month a special observance for you and your critical care team. Click on the tabs above to find out more.
Clinical Resources
Critical Care Clinical Resources
Courses
The ACCP supports critical care professionals by offering relevant education courses and products throughout the year.
Improving Outcomes in Critical Care
Held June 11-13, 2010, at the ACCP Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Education in Northbrook, IL. This 3-day multimodal course will utilize various degrees of simulation to offer experiential learning in domains that include ventilator management, hemodynamic monitoring, and management of a critically ill patient.
The ACCP Critical Care Medicine Board Review 2010: Held August 27-30, 2010, in Orlando, FL. ABIM Critical Care Medicine SEP Module: Held August 31, 2010, in Orlando, FL.
CHEST 2010: October 30 – November 4, 2010 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Critical care is a primary focus at the ACCP annual meeting and will be a featured curriculum topic area. Select CHEST 2010 critical care presentations include:
- Evaluation and Management of the Critically Ill Transplant Recipient
- Extracorporeal Lung Support
- Early Goal-Directed Therapy: Beyond the Guidelines
- Community-Based Critical Care in Areas With Limited Capability: Care in the Austere Environment
- Intensive Care of the Cancer Patient
- Nonpulmonary Issues in the ICU
- Critical Care Ultrasonography
- Sleep Issues in the ICU
- Ventilator Management and Goals in Acute Lung Injury and ARDS: Pro/Con Debate
- The 2009-2010 Influenza Season: A Postmortem
Critical Care Institute
The ACCP Critical Care Institute enhances the scientific knowledge, evidence-based medicine, and clinical practices that further our understanding of the mechanism and management of acute and life-threatening critical illness, as well as the organizational attributes associated with the optimal delivery of critical care services. The Web site provides links to a variety of education and patient resources. LEARN MORE
Additional Resources:
- Pandemic Preparedness: Definitive Care for the Critically Ill During a Disaster
The ACCP and members of the Task Force for Mass Critical Care developed Definitive Care for the Critically Ill During a Disaster, a framework to guide public health authorities, hospitals, and medical professionals in caring for patients during times of emergency mass critical care (EMCC).
Download a complimentary copy of the EMCC framework. - ACCP Critical Care Medicine Board Review Materials
- ACCP-SEEK: Critical Care Medicine, Volume XVIII
- NEW! ACCP-SEEK ™ iPhone® App
Patient Resources
Critical Care Patient Resources
The Critical Care Family Assistance Program
The CHEST Foundation developed the Critical Care Family Assistance Program to fulfill the unmet needs of the families of critically ill patients in hospital ICUs. The program also serves to foster better communication between the health-care team, patients, and their families. Learn more about how to implement this groundbreaking program at your hospital by ordering the Critical Care Family Assistance Program Replication Toolkit.
Stories at the End of Life
This inspirational series is a compilation of moving physician- and patient-written stories about individual experiences at the end of life. This booklet set provides educational tools to health-care providers dealing with end-of-life issues and serves to provide comfort and solace to families in their time of need.
ICU: Frequently Asked Questions in the ICU
ICU: Frequently Asked Questions in the ICU is a valuable resource for patients and their families. The booklet was developed by Kalpalatha K. Guntupalli, MD, FCCP, recipient of the ACCP's Second Eli Lilly and Company Distinguished Scholar in Critical Care Medicine award. It was based on 5 years of research on family needs in the ICU conducted by the sites comprising the Critical Care Family Assistance Network. This booklet is comprehensive and easy for families to understand. It is perfect for distributing to families who are facing a stressful situation with a loved one, and it also can be used by members of the critical care team.
Legislation
Critical Care Workforce Legislation
The ACCP, as part of the Critical Care Workforce Partnership, is working together with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Representative Janice Schakowsky (D-IL-9th), and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA-7th) to create policy that addresses the critical care workforce shortage. This effort was realized when the new Patient-Focused Critical Care Enhancement Act was introduced in the 111th Congress.
ACCP members are encouraged to contact their Representative using the ACCP Legislative Action Center, to urge them to cosponsor the Patient-Focused Critical Care Enhancement Act (HR 1581/S 1020), which, if enacted, would take an important step to improve the efficiency and retention of the critical care workforce while reducing its burnout rate by:
- funding the development of innovative approaches to critical care, through the use of telemedicine in rural and underserved inpatient critical care settings, and increasing the supply of critical care physicians through National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Programs.
- funding research in standardization, staffing patterns, and coordinated community and regional approaches to providing critical care services.
See additional information, including a podcast, regarding the critical care workforce shortage.
Pain in the ICU
Pain in the ICU
Managing pain in the ICU is an ongoing and significant challenge for the critical care team. However, a new five-article series published in CHEST reviews the complex nature of pain experienced by a critical care patient and details the benefits of taking a comprehensive approach to pain management—one that combines pharmacotherapy with behavioral, social, and communication strategies, interdisciplinary teams, and family involvement. Published in the April, May, and June issues of CHEST, the Pain in the ICU article series was developed by critical care experts from the Critical Care Institute of the ACCP, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Read the full press release about the Pain in the ICU article series.
Download complimentary copies of the first two articles in the ICU article series.
Award
Critical Care Award
In 2000, The CHEST Foundation created the Roger C. Bone Advances in End-of-Life Care Award, in memory of the late Roger C. Bone, MD, Master FCCP. This annual award is presented to an ACCP member who demonstrates outstanding leadership in end-of-life care. This award is not for research or to provide seed money for a new project but focuses on leadership in end-of-life care at the international, national, or local level.
ACCP members who have at least 5 years of experience in palliative and/or end-of-life care are invited to apply for this award at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/chest2010. Deadline for applications is May 4, 2010. Only online applications will be reviewed.
