to help


to help improve their practiceihi i By Jonathan Bilyk M


arcie Ludwig, BSN, RN, CPEN, wouldn’t say her career as a critical care nurse


in the pediatric ICU is stress free, but she said she’s developed skills that help her keep the focus on helping


her patients. For more thanadecade anda half,


Ludwig has worked asacritical care nurse in pediatric care units, first in Las Vegas, and for the last decade, at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver. Her time at Children’s Hospital has included work in the cardiac ICU and the hospital’s ED andLevel 1trauma center. Here Ludwig shares some tips to


help other critical care nurses improve their practice.


COLLABORATE Few can understand what a nurse experiences better than fellow nurses, Ludwig said. “Your nursing peers are most often your closest friends,” she said. “They understand


theintricacies ofcriticalcarenursing and thechallengesitpresents.” To create the kind of environment nurses desire and need— one in which patients,


families, nurses and all healthcare professionals receive the support they deserve — nurses need to collaborate. “Nurses make the biggest difference with their attention to detail,assessment skillsand facilitatingcarecoordination,” Ludwigsaid.


REACH OUT Today’s nurses have many resources to help them succeed professionally and thrive personally, but they will find those resources far more readily if they ask for help. “I would have never made it through my career in critical care without the support


of mypeers,” Ludwigsaid. She recommends nurses findamentor and then mentor someone else. “Having a


mentor to reach out to is essential,” she said. “In turn, having thesatisfaction of being a mentor toothers alsohelps you copewith stressful situations.”


LISTEN A key to managing stressful environments is remaining keenly aware of the environment. In nursing, this could mean honing an awareness of deficits in the nursing unit and in patient care. To identify those deficits, active listening is essential, Ludwig said. “[Nurses] continue to prevent patient harm by taking action on thenear misses that


theywitness every day,” Ludwig said. “This is done through active listening, connecting with patients andadvocating for improvements incare delivery.”


Marcie Ludwig, RN


SPEAK UP Too often, nurses let complacency and pride interfere with the chance to improve the situations and environments in which they find themselves, according to Ludwig. “We must never stop learning, asking why or searching for best evidence-based


on critical care TIPS


practices,” she said. From there, critical care nurses, particularly, should constantly work to hone how they share and deliver what they have learned and advocate for the implementationofthose evidence-based practices to helppatients. “Speaking your mind ina respectful, heartfelt way is an art developed over time,”


Ludwig said. • Jonathan Bilyk is a freelance writer.


FOR MORE, visit Nurse.com/Article/Marcie-Ludwig-Tips 2016 • Visit us at NURSE.com 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46