A Cup A Day

This past weekend I had the privilege to attend a conference up at Johns Hopkins Medical Center:

“Creating and Sustaining a Physical Rehabilitation Program in the Intensive Care Unit”

What was so fantastic, was hearing first hand from the clinicians who have been at the front lines of creating, sustaining, and fighting for these early mobilization programs in the ICU. I can not tell you how exciting it is to listen to a lecture when the research the speaker is citing is their own! When you can speak to them in person and ask all those itching questions you get when reading articles. [nerd alert!]

So, aside from a BIG case of academic starstruck fever…the diversity of individuals attending the conference was really incredible! I met physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, doctors, speech language pathologist, respiratory therapists, & physiologists (and a few fellow students) from across the country and world (30 states, Canada, Germany, & Saudi Arabia) who were all there to share their experiences and learn from one another. Ultimately, we were all there to figure out how to improve the care and outcomes for patients in the ICU.

Quick side bar –> Lately, I have been participating in several TED MED “google hangout” sessions where  experts in the field have been discussing the ‘great challenges’ facing medicine in the coming years. The discussions are recorded so you can view them after the fact and I would encourage anyone who is interested to check them out and get engaged in the future: http://www.tedmed.com/greatchallenges

One thing that resonates through all of the talks, is that CHANGE has to start with us! As health care providers, we have to recognize the short comings in our system and work together to make a change. This is what Johns Hopkins has done with the early mobilization program in the ICU, the built a program from the ground up, slowly accumulating funds, support, and research. However, I learned over the weekend what a complex task early mobilization is and requires collaboration of many disciplines to succeed –> but it was done here and CAN be implemented else where.

Now, I know this has already been A LOT of words for my typical blog post, but I will continue to elaborate on this topic over the next few days.

However, if you are interested in this subject and want to start finding out more check this out:

• Check out the twitter feed from the event, for articles and other stimulating convo: #icurehab
• Join the mailing list for updates and other events – send your name and email to: icurehab@gmail.com
• Visit these sites:
  • www.hopkinsmedicine.org/OACIS
  • www.mobilization-network.org