The Patient's Perspective of the Intensive Care Unit Diary in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Many patients who survive an intensive care unit admission develop post-intensive care syndrome and face significant long-term physical, cognitive, and mental health impairments. The intensive care unit diary is a reality-sorting tool that is effective in aiding patients to connect their flashbacks and delusional memories to actual events.

Objectives: To describe implementation of an intensive care unit diary in the cardiac intensive care unit and to describe the patient's perspective of the diary.

Developing Professional Practice and Ethics Engagement: A Leadership Model.

Nurse leaders are responsible for a practice environment that fosters safe, quality patient outcomes through excellence in nursing practice. This article describes a reflective practice intervention in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit of an urban academic medical center led by the unit nursing director and the hospital's nurse ethicist. The twice monthly case-based discussions, called "Nursing Practice and Ethics Rounds," were attended by staff and unit managers (nurse director, assistant nurse director, and clinical educator) and were facilitated by the nurse ethicist.

Blogging as an Innovative Method of Peer-to-Peer Educational Sharing.

Background: Nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit often attend professional education opportunities. However, it is difficult to share this information among nursing staff. Varying schedules, different shifts, and patient acuity limit the amount of time available for peer-to-peer sharing of educational information.