The Critical Care Community Shares Why It’s “Better Together” at Congress 2023

 
 

In addition to learning from experts about the latest critical care advancements, attendees had ample opportunity to exchange ideas with peers, reunite with old friends, and make new connections throughout Congress. Max’s Cafe, which served as a tribute to the first and founding president of SCCM, Max Harry Weil, MD, PhD, MCCM, provided attendees a chance to catch up over coffee and offered a space for discussion at various roundtable sessions. Meetups and networking luncheons provided spaces for meeting both familiar and future colleagues. Wine tastings and evening receptions offered peers and mentors opportunities to celebrate their accomplishments together. Conversation boards throughout Moscone Center South highlighted attendees’ collective answers to thought-provoking questions.
 
Congress attendees shared their experiences at the conference and on how the critical care community is Better Together.

Ndidi Musa, MD, FCCM Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist University of Washington Seattle Children’s Hospital What does Better Together mean to you? That we work together as a team—nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, pharmacists. We are better together because each person brings their knowledge, and the patient gets the collective wisdom of the team.   What’s your favorite part of Congress? Dr. Glaucomflecken. He’s hilarious. However, his wife really spoke to my heart about co-survivors. As intensivists, we talk to the family, but we don’t really ask them how they are doing. The one thing I’m going to take back is that I will ask families how they are doing, not just tell them about the patient and our plan, but actually inquire about them.

Pictured: Ndidi Musa

Denis Vanini, PharmD Critical Care Pharmacy Resident University of Rochester Medical Center What does Better Together mean to you? It means networking and getting to know people in different disciplines. It’s important to do that because we get to learn from each other. I attended the Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology Section Reception, and it was great to interact with people from across the country and meet them in person at the event.   Describe your Congress experience in 3 words. Innovative, collaborative, insightful.

Pictured: Denis Vanini and colleague Jenna Corvelli

 
 
Nicole Cota, BSN, CCRN, RN

Nurse Practitioner
Chandler Regional Medical Center

What does Better Together mean to you?
I’m a nurse practitioner, so I have seen what “better together” looks like in the ICU setting. For me, it means having multidisciplinary teams working in collaboration. Congress is an example of that—it’s an opportunity to meet other critical care professionals and network with other people from all over.
 
Describe Congress in 3 words.
Knowledge-based learning.