A roundup from members of the SCCM’s ICU Liberation committee, recorded at SCCM Congress 2025. Included:โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We learn the vanishing art of placing the PA (Swan-Ganz) catheter, with intensivist and friend of the podcast Matt Siuba (@msiuba). Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway points References Insertion video Wedge distance How measurement technique affects diagnosis Thermo in TR review POCUS fo…

We learn about the Vortex approach to airway management, as well as airway algorithms and mental models in general, with Vortex creator and anesthesiologist Dr. Nicholas Chrimes, anaesthetist and cofounder of the Safe Airway Society. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! References…

We discuss the basics of evaluation for tracheostomy placement, periprocedural care, and post-procedure complications with Vinciya Pandian, PhD, ACNP, FCCM, tracheostomy nurse practitioner and researcher. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss assessment, monitoring, medical stabilization, and when to consider transplant of the patient with acute liver failure. We are joined by Dr. Sergio Navarrete, anesthesiologist and intensivist with fellowship training in transplant anesthesia. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway…

We talk about the nitty-gritty details of a well-run cardiac arrest, with Scott Weingart of Emcrit (@emcrit), ED intensivist. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons Resourcesโดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We talk about the phenomenon of airway closure during mechanical ventilation, with Thomas Piraino, RRT, FCSRT, FAARC, adjunct lecturer for the Department of Anesthesia at McMaster University, editor of The Centre of Excellence in Mechanical Ventilation Blog, and a member of the editorial board of Respiratory Care. Learn more at the Intensive Care A…

Our approach to common problems and troubleshooting: Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We chat about the post-op transition of care from the OR to the ICU, including questions to ask, workflows, and pitfalls. Check out the Intensive Care Academy here! Bryan’s textbook: Concepts in Surgical Critical Care Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We talk about diagnosis, treatment, and subsequent care of the patient with bacterial meningitis, with Emory neurointensivist Casey Albin, MD (@caseyalbin). Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons Resourcesโดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We chat with Nick Ghionni, pulm/crit attending at MedStar Baltimore Hospital, about identifying and combating cognitive biases in our clinical decision-making. Check out the Intensive Care Academy here! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the practical barriers to implementing the A-F ICU liberation bundle, with Kali Dayton, ACNP-BC (@daytonicu), host of the Walking Home from the ICU podcast, and consultant to ICUs working on these issues. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!…

We chat with Noelia Bischoff, recently off orientation in the medical ICU at Johns Hopkins as a nurse practitioner, about the transition from her role as a bedside ICU nurse. Check out the Intensive Care Academy here! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss transfusion reactions, risks, and management, including infection, consent, TRALI, TACO, and hemolytic reactions—with Dr. Joe Chaffin (@bloodbankguy), the “Blood Bank Guy” and transfusion medicine specialist. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons…

Experts in critical care share their approach to post-intubation sedation. Contributors: Check out the Intensive Care Academy here! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We talk the nitty-gritty of assessing the right heart using echocardiography, with our friend Matt Siuba (@msiuba), intensivist at the Cleveland Clinic and master of zentensivism. Learn more at the Intensive Care Academy! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessonsโดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We explore the fascinating world of artificial intelligence and its role in medicine, with Nawar Shara (@NawarShara), PhD, Chief of Research Data Science at Medstar Health Research Institute and cofounding director of the AI Collab between Medstar and Georgetown. Check out the Intensive Care Academy here! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch her…

We share our grand new project, the Intensive Care Academy, an online, video-based, subscriber-only educational platform. Check it out at icu101.com!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the practicalities of using airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) with Dr. Rory Spiegel (@EMnerd_), emergency physician and intensivist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (and EMNerd at Emcrit). Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessonsโดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We learn about the training, role, and benefits of hospital chaplains, with Christine V. Davies, MDiv, MSW, Director of Chaplaincy at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the field of rehabilitation psychology, and how it can help patients with persistent critical illness, with Dr. Megan Hosey (@DrMeganHoseyPhD), clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she practices in the medical ICU. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons Resources…

We explore the profession of respiratory therapy in the US, including their role and training and how to optimize our clinical relationships, with Keith Lamb (@kdlamb1), RRT, RRT-ACCS, FAARC, FCCM. Keith is an RT at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, working clinically in neuro/surgical/trauma critical care, who has been active in resea…

Responsible self-directed learning occurs in a zone between comfort and novelty. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the principles and application of automatic tube compensation (ATC) on modern ventilators, with its creator Ben Fabry. Dr. Fabry is a professor and chair of biophysics at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, originally trained as an electrical engineer, who originally developed ATC as part of his PhD program. Find us on Patreon here! Buy yo…

Brandon summarizes his recent publication describing best practices for performing POCUS. Read the paper open access at POCUS Journal. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

Our collaboration with Sarah Lorenzini of the Rapid Response RN podcast, discussing a case and general principles for diagnosing and managing obstructive shock. Check out the other episodes on shock in the Nurses’ Podcrawl 2024! Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We chat about pulmonary/critical care medicine fellowship with recent graduate Nicholas Ghionni (@pulmtoilet), a first-year attending at the MedStar Baltimore Hospital system. He completed PCCM fellowship at MedStar Washington Hospital Center where he also served as chief fellow. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!…

The difference between people and institutions. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the role of point-of-care ultrasound in evaluating the patient with kidney injury and assessing volume status, with Abhilash Koratala (@nephroP), nephrologist, Director of Clinical Imaging for Nephrology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and champion of nephrology-focused ultrasound. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takea…

The nuts and bolts of how we produce the show. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We explore critical care transport medicine from both a clinical and career perspective, including helicopters (HEMS), fixed wing jet, and ground ambulance transports, with Jace Mullen, flight paramedic and airway educator out of Denver. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

When do patients deaths bother us?โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! We discuss the phenomenon of CPR-induced consciousness (i.e. patients demonstrating awakeness during resuscitation) with Jack Howard, Intensive Care Paramedic at Ambulance Victoria in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and first author on a recent literature review and Delphi-derived expert g…

Should you use volume or pressure control ventilation? Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We talk about working in critical care APP leadership positions, with Jason Wieland, PA, Lead Pulmonary & Critical Care APP at WakeMed Health System in Raleigh, NC. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

You poked through the deep wall of a vessel. Now what? Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss the medications typically used after organ transplant, their impact on critical illness, and how to manage them when these patients show up sick—with Olivia Philippart, transplant clinical pharmacist specializing in liver and kidney transplant at University of Kentucky HealthCare. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway le…

How I make patients poop. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

A roundup of opinions from attendees at SCCM’s 2024 Critical Care Congress in Phoenix on strategies for rescuing the patient stuck in a loop of deep sedation and agitation. Thanks to Pat Posa, Martha Roberts, Juliana Barr, Kelly Drumright, and Ben Lassow for their input. Resourcesโดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

How to document your ultrasound findings. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here!โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss assessing patients prior to intubation or other airway management, including both elective and emergent circumstances, with Dr. Jed Wolpaw, anesthesiologist and intensivist from Johns Hopkins, anesthesiology residency program director, and host of the ACCRAC podcast. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons Referenc…

Arterial lines are resuscitative tools.โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

Bedside nurses and providers (physicians, PAs, NPs) tend to see the world differently, much of it driven by their training and the systems they work within. We chat about reconciling this and how to best function as a team.โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

In general, medical decisions that avoid error are better than those that optimize care.โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We discuss head and neck surgery with Dr. Alexandra Kejner, otolaryngologist at the Medical University of South Carolina specializing in transoral robotic surgery, reconstructive surgery including microvascular free tissue transfer, salivary neoplasms, and sialoendoscopic procedures. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaway lessons Re…

The core disorders of critical care are mostly syndromes, not diseases. What should this mean to us?โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

Discussing the new 2023 AAN/AAP/CNS/SCCM Pediatric and Adult Brain Death/Death by Neurologic Criteria Consensus Practice Guideline, with the joint first authors: Dr. Ariane Lewis, neurointensivist, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at NYU Langone, director of neurocritical care, and chair of the Langone ethics committee, and Dr. Matthew Kirsc…

If you produce academic work, use the research to produce multiple products. Once is a waste.โดย Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

We learn about liver transplant with Dr. Meera Gupta, transplant surgeon at the University of Kentucky Healthcare Transplant Center, and surgical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program. We discuss eligibility, triage, the peri-operative course, and important post-op complications. Find us on Patreon here! Buy your merch here! Takeaw…