The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is an extreme workplace environment. Patients require acute care – and their condition can change within seconds. Loved ones are anxious and often in a state of shock and disbelief. In this high-pressure environment, healthcare professionals manage life and death situations through gruelling 12-hour shifts. In a neurological ICU, the slightest change in their condition can have a significant impact on a patients’ life, behaviours, capacities, and capabilities.
Ìý
“I always think to myself - what kind of nurse would I want to care for my mother. I keep that at the back of my mind, and that is what pushes me to be the best I can be.â€
-Jestina Jack, Nurse, Intensive Care Unit, The Neuro
Ìý
Try to keep up with Jestina Jack on a Day in her Life as an Intensive Care Unit nurse at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) in Montreal, Canada.