eICU - Anyone using this?

dgudmestad · Jan 23, 2007

I work on the EICU side of the camera. Absolutely love it. I know some nurses are hesitant thinking we are looking over their shoulders. I can assure you...as nurses ourselves, we are all on the same team. At our facility we have 6 screens and it can get pretty busy keeping up with everything. I think the biggest thing to remember for those of you at the bedside is this: We are there to assist you and help you in whatever way we can. For us, if we can help you get that order you need or if you have a "feeling" something isn't right and no one will listen to you...please...bend our ear. So many times, nurses have a gut feeling and notice things that physicians disregard. The EICU can help. We don't want to take over and we don't claim to know more than anyone else, we just use different tools, like our software, that alerts us of various trends. These trends can sometimes give insight to problems that otherwise would go undetected for a longer period of time because independent of each other, they seem insignificant. EICU is all about collaboration. So many times I've called the unit saying...ok...here's what I'm seeing, what are you seeing? What's your physician saying? Ok...let me talk to my doc and see what he thinks. Through collaboration, I have seen major events headed off before they explode into tragic outcomes.

ICU_floater · Jan 31, 2007

I've posted extensively on this. Hindsight. when in a teaching hospital, we used the MD there to facilitate appropriate emergent orders, even for appropriate sedation when the interns/residents had their heads up their orifices. In addition it was used when the new interns/residents had NO idea what to do, and I did and needed orders,there was an intensivist on the other end who'd listen and could give those orders.

downside- sick poor nursing staff who'd zoom in to watch you. When you enter a patient room, even in camera, you introduce yourself and your intentions as not to invade privacy. these crappy nurses would zoom in looking for things to talk crap about their 'peers", then they were required to staff to keep current and would sit for hours on end, neglecting their own patients, talking trash about others. Whenever I saw the camera light up, I'd say.... and here's the other half of my brain... say something and introduce yourself. I'd also hit the button on the wall that alerts the nurse to zoom in and get audio/visual, if the pt. was uncomfortable with the idea and they'd 'chat".

they have saved many a patient of mine by calling the desk to say room 17 is climbing out of bed.... if a code or really crashing patient was taking up care, they'd chime in the room, go see room 17... his sats are dropping... they WERE a good source of help, if the help was a good cailiber.