May 2024 President's Update
Published on: May 03, 2024
Welcome to May as we continue our progress towards the horizon. This month holds special significance as it marks a time of celebration and reflection on critical care.
First and foremost, May is recognized as National Critical Care Awareness Month. During this time, we channel our efforts into educational endeavors within neurocritical care, spanning across various disciplines. The Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) has distinguished itself as a multidisciplinary society with interest in improving outcomes for patients with neurological critical illness. Our emphasis on education and community engagement are central to accomplishing this goal.
This year, the NCS is focused on engaging our committees and sections to enhance education and community engagement across several specific projects. Notably, the NCS Nursing, APP, INCC, EPC and ACT committees have been working diligently to develop an educational needs assessment, with the aim of NCS becoming the educator of choice. We plan to conduct this survey later in 2024 to understand how best to serve our community through educational offerings.
Meanwhile, the INCC committee has been working to establish and enhance outreach to underserved and low-resource communities, both within and external to North America. Additionally, the committee is working diligently to establish an Educational Fellowship opportunity in remembrance of the late Galen Henderson, MD, a leader in neurocritical care diversity and inclusion.
Simultaneously, the NCRC has launched a mentorship program for early-career individuals seeking guidance and support in their academic neurocritical care development. This mentorship program is designed to facilitate growth of a diverse and robust population of academicians and researchers, poised to advance the field in the next generation.
In conjunction with this effort, the Fellowship Program Director Section and the ACT Committee have been hosting a series of detailed webinar conferences to enhance fellowship programs under the aegis of the new ACGME fellowship training requirements.
The Curing Coma® Campaign has been active in organizing and conducting World Coma Day, launching the COMPOSE study and initiating the new Coma Quality Improvement Program (CQIP). CQIP is being designed as an interactive data repository and reporting system that will enable centers to assess performance with the aim to achieve excellence through comparative benchmarking.
Intersecting with NCC, May is also Stroke Awareness Month and Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month, shining a spotlight on the critical importance of continued care and support for those affected by stroke at all ages. These observances serve as poignant reminders of the importance of neurocritical care education and awareness, and at the NCS, we seize this opportunity to amplify our efforts in advancing stroke care through comprehensive learning initiatives.
The NCS stands at the forefront of neurocritical care education, offering a diverse array of resources tailored to the needs of NCC professionals. In recognition of this month’s observances, I urge you to explore the many stroke-related resources available to you and housed within the NCS Learning Center.
- NCS podcast episodes feature expert insights on a variety of topics, including stroke, and are available to you anytime, anywhere.
- Our Emergency Neurological Life Support® (ENLS®) course is designed to help improve patient care and outcomes during the critical first hours of a patient’s neurological emergency.
- Neurocritical Care ON CALL® offers content exclusively dedicated to the practice of neurocritical care and features 22 interactive topics across a variety of mediums.
- Select Annual Meeting programming packages delve into the latest advancements and best practices, many of which are related to stroke.
- Our N-Case courses provide immersive case-based learning experiences, fostering critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills.
While these resources serve as pillars in the ongoing effort to enhance stroke care and outcomes, they are just some of the cutting-edge learning provided by the NCS.
As previously outlined in my February President’s Message, one of the NCS’ strategic aims is to become the provider of choice for all education resources in neurocritical care. We remain steadfast in our efforts to ensure that professionals across diverse disciplines have access to the highest quality NCC education. Through continuous development and updates, we strive to deliver innovative learning opportunities that cater to the evolving needs of the NCC community.
In addition to existing educational resources, the NCS recently launched two educational courses:
- The revised Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Orientation Course is a resource designed for APPs and healthcare professionals working in neurocritical care. It includes resources covering a wide variety of foundational and disease-specific content for an array of diagnoses encountered in neurocritical care.
- The revised Online Brain Death Determination Course aims to standardize the process of brain death diagnosis. This credentialing tool will help those clinicians who are allowed by their local laws to perform brain death determination to learn and demonstrate their level of understanding and expertise. This course has been updated to incorporate principles from the American Academy of Neurology's newly published guideline on brain death.
The release of these updated courses further reinforces NCS’s commitment to delivering innovative education across diverse areas of neurocritical care.
As we move further into 2024, we continue in our efforts to make waves within the practice of NCC.
The NCS 22nd Annual Meeting, taking place October 14-17, 2024, is where revolutionary education meets diverse perspectives. With registration opening in May, the Annual Meeting will offer unparalleled opportunities to engage with leading experts and stay at the forefront of neurocritical care education. This year’s program will feature an extensive lineup of sessions and workshops across multiple disciplines, providing insights and knowledge crucial to advancing the NCC practice.
As we continue our journey towards becoming the provider of choice for all education resources in neurocritical care, NCS remains dedicated to empowering excellence, fostering collaboration and driving positive change in the field.