Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Mentor

Tracy Arnold

Abstract

Excerpt from Introduction

After a head-on collision with a drunk driver, Kathy Torpie had a long road to recovery ahead of her. After three weeks in the intensive care unit (ICU), sedation, and mechanical ventilation, she was left with a set of symptoms coined Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) (Torpie, 2005). PICS is defined as “a condition that encompasses new or worsening impairments in the patient’s physical, cognitive, or mental status arising after critical illness and persisting beyond the acute hospitalization” (Makic, 2016, p. 172). With technological advancements, ICU survival rates are on the rise. Now that survival has increased, it is time that the focus of intensive care expands to not only the survival of the patient but to encompass the patient as a whole; cognitively, psychologically, and physically in order to prevent PICS (Makic, 2016). Patient perspectives of PICS are a valuable asset in finding the most appropriate treatments for these patients. Furthermore, patient perspectives aid in applying possible preventative measures and treatment options to best nursing practice.


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