NCS Roundup

By Michelle Schober, MD James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can change until it is faced.” Many who previously doubted the existence of racial inequity in our society now finally accept it as a grave problem. Sadly, many of the newly convinced fail to internalize the realization, thus perpetuating racial inequity by inaction.   Individual inaction often stems from the unconscious separation many create between “society” and our day-to-day lives. Compartmentalization of the racial inequity “out there” separate ...

The Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) is proud to launch the September 2020 issue of Currents , featuring a compilation of content published on Currents throughout this extraordinary year.  This special annual issue reflects on how neurocritical care professionals have addressed COVID-19, while sharing how our Society and the field will embrace the future. This content provides a mere snapshot of the work our community has done during the pandemic, and we are immensely proud to showcase it in this issue.  Currents highlights innovative ideas ...

By   George Lopez, Chitra Venkatasubramanian and Sarah Peacock We are excited to announce that after much consideration and evaluation, Emergency Neurological Life Support® (ENLS) will receive a major upgrade in Fall 2020! NCS has partnered with Designing Digitally, a company that specializes in simulation content to build several virtual simulation cases in the online ENLS course. Virtual simulation has gained popularity in healthcare and throughout education as they help leaners integrate information in a safe manner. We anticipate the developed ...

As a global society, NCS supports its members in need throughout the world. The tragic Beirut explosion displaced several families and help is needed. Please click here to donate to the Red Cross who is currently providing aid. Funds are needed for food, water, hygiene kits, masks, gloves and other essentials, as well as the Red Cross Restoring Family Links Program. #NCSRoundup ​

By Uttara Koul, MD,   PGY4 neurology resident,   St. Louis University; and Aleksandra Yakhkind, MD,   PGY6 neurocritical care fellow,   University of Pennsylvania Neurocritical care attracts residents from a multitude of specialties   — a majority constitutes adult neurology residents. As one myself and a Trainee Section leadership member, I shall take the onus of speaking on their behalf about our experience with the recent fellowship application process. After surviving through a tumultuous year of internal medicine, we excitedly graduate ...

By Shraddha Mainali, MD; Molly McNett, PhD, RN, FNCS; Sherry Chou, MD, MMSC, FNCS; Jennifer Kim, MD, PhD; Tom Lawson, CNP   The Research Operations Subcommittee (ROSC) of The Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) has continued to support research initiatives throughout the society. Within the past year, the subcommittee has primarily provided operational support for two main projects: The Curing Coma Campaign (CCC) The Global Consortium Study of Neurological Dysfunction in COVID-19 (GCS NeuroCOVID). The Curing Coma Campaign (CCC) NCS ...

By Angela Hays Shapshak and Atul Kalanuria The past several months have been eventful for those of us involved in neurocritical care education. As I’m sure you are aware, the first ABMS Neurocritical Care examination is scheduled to take place in October 2021; applications will become available in December of this year. As announced at the recent meeting of the AAN CCEN Section, the exam is now being co-sponsored by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Surgery, in addition to Neurology, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery. A ...

By Gretchen Brophy, Diana Greene-Chandos, Marin Darsie,  Holly Hinson, Elissa Fory, Nerissa Ko, Deepa Malaiyandi, Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza and Wendy Wright-Siegler Women in Neurocritical Care (WINCC) has evolved over the years to be one of the most active sections of the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS). Here, we'll share the evolution of WINCC and give NCS members a glimpse of what’s to come. In the late fall of 2002, an all-female group of fellows (Chere Chase-Gregory, Anise Ardelt, Connie Chen and Wendy Wright-Siegler) from Johns Hopkins started ...

By Katharina Busl and David Greer What is Neurocritical Care ON CALL? Neurocritical Care ON CALL is the subscription-based, up-to-date, comprehensive online resource dedicated to the multi-disciplinary practice of neurocritical care. It was launched in the summer of 2018 by the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS). The platform features easy-to-navigate text content, tables, figures, videos and other media. The chapters offer content for every neurocritical care team member. Since inception, the platform has launched 21 new topics, including the ...

By Deborah Tran First, I would like to thank nurses   for all the work you do for our neurocritical care patients daily, and for the work many of you are doing to provide care for the patients with illness related to the global pandemic. Many of you are working in different areas than usual, and the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Nursing Section applauds your efforts. Our committee has the charge “to grow, strengthen and diversify the nursing voice within the Neurocritical Care Society.” We work to identify and meet the needs of neurocritical care ...

By Stephen Trevick, MD Medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic has seen greater change over a shorter period of time than once believed possible. As physicians and associated medical providers, our institutions, case profiles and even day-to-day workflows have undergone incredible shifts.  The Neurocritical Care Society has released a bundle of the book " Law and Ethics in Neurocritical Care " by Drs. James E. Szalados, Wendy Wright and Wade Smith alongside "The Ethics Curriculum for Neurocritical Care Fellowships," edited by myself and written ...

By Shraddha Mainali, MD; Sherry Chou, MD, MSc; Molly McNett, PhD, RN, CNRN, FNCS, FAAN; Raimund Helbok, MD, PhD; Jennifer Frontera, MD; Ericka L. Fink, MD, MS; Michelle Schober, MD; and Courtney L. Robertson, MD Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or the COVID-19 pandemic, is advancing at a rapid pace. The widespread nature of this virus has led to significant constraints in healthcare resources, forcing many hospital systems to limit and monitor resource utilization. The overwhelmed healthcare systems are compelled to ...

Women in Neurocritical Care Corner: Perspectives from the Frontlines By Diana Greene-Chandos, MD, FNCS I recently watched a segment from a critical care physician on national news, where she described writing a “goodbye” letter to her children while struggling to catch her breath due to hypoxia from COVID-19.  I, like many, were moved to tears by the rawness of the interview and the mere consideration that I and many of my colleagues around the world, could potentially be in the same boat.   Many medical professionals have lost their lives ...

By Khalid Alsherbini, MD 1 ; Tariq Abu Elem, MD, FAANS 2 ; Ahmed Yassin, MD 3 ; Said Dahbour, MD, FAAN 4 ; Mohammad Talib Abu Elem, MD 5 ; Lama H Nazer, PharmD, BCPS 6 ; Islam Ahmed Ali E’lemat, MD 7 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Email: kalsherb@uthsc.edu Arkansas Neuroscience Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine , King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan Faculty of Medicine, ...

By Yasser B. Abulhasan, MBChB, FRCPC, chairman, Neurocritical Care-MENA chapter of IPACCMS It was a great pleasure to be tasked by the congress chairman, Dr. Assem Abdel Razek, to collaborate with the scientific committee and organize the neurocritical care tracks for the 13 th Pan Arab Critical Care Congress in association with the 7 th Annual Congress of the Egyptian Society of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, Intercontinental Cairo Citystars, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt (Nov. 19-21, 2019). This demonstrated the recognition, importance of advanced ...

By Chitra Venkatasubramanian, MBBS, MD, MS, FNCS; George Lopez, MD, PhD; and Sarah Peacock, DPN  We are in unprecedented times with the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantines, lockdowns and shelter-in-home are the buzzwords, and schools have switched to continuing education using online curriculums.  At NCS, we are not far behind. In fact, the idea for live online Emergency Neurological Life Support (ENLS) lectures germinated in 2019 as we recognized the increasing demand for ENLS worldwide and the need to deliver high-quality educational content in ...

Submitted by the Neurocritical Care Society Survey Working Group Members: Julius Gene S Latorre, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA, FNCS; Abhijit V. Lele, MBBS, MD, MS, FNCS; Navaz Karanjia, MD; M. Moheet, MD, MHDS, FNCS; Peter Papadakos, MD, FCCM; and Syed Omar Shah, MD, MBA  As the field of neurocritical care continues to solidify and evolve, there has been no comprehensive benchmarking survey that encompasses both compensation and structure of practices. The 2019 NCS Compensation Survey was created to fill this gap in knowledge and will allow practicing physicians ...

As COVID-19 continues to evolve worldwide, the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) will share the latest updates regarding our events to keep you informed. We’ve also included some basic information about the virus below for you to share with your patients. We will update this page as changes occur. For more information, visit the NCS COVID-19 Resources web page .  What You Need to Know About the NCS 18th Annual Meeting Currently, the NCS 18th Annual Meeting , scheduled for Sept. 22-25, 2020, in Phoenix is still being offered. As the situation ...

Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza, MD, MSCI Assistant Professor University of Mississippi Medical Center Aleksandra Yakhkind, MD, MS Neurocritical Care Fellow University of Pennsylvania Health System Do you have questions regarding your professional life? Is there a conundrum at work that requires an outside perspective? The Trainee Section and Women in Neurocritical Care (WINCC) Section have teamed up to publish a new column in Currents to serve your professional advice needs. Submit question s to winccmentorship@gmail.com , ...

By Yasser B. Abulhasan, Chairman, Neurocritical Care-MENA Chapter of IPACCMS; and Hussain N. Al Rahma, President, IPACCMS It will be a delight to welcome you to Dubai for the Second Regional Neurocritical Care Meeting in the Middle East and Africa on April 2-4, 2020. After the buzz of the First Regional Meeting , our challenge was to exceed expectations and embed the multidisciplinary message of the NCS within our upcoming meeting, coupled with knowledge, research collaboration and networking. Additionally, it will be a great opportunity for ...

By Jason Makii, PharmD, MBA, FCCM, FNCS, BCPS, BCCCP, Chair, Pharmacy Section Leadership Committee  The Pharmacy Section celebrated numerous successes in 2019. Sixty-six pharmacists attended the NCS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, in October 2019 with several members presenting their research, moderating sessions and speaking throughout the event. I would like to acknowledge and thank the outstanding committee members for their service and dedication this past year. A special thanks to Gretchen Brophy for her leadership of NCS as her ...

By Shraddha Mainali, MD ; Sherry H-Y Chou, MD, MSc ; Molly Mcnett, PhD, RN, CNRN ; Jennifer Kim, MD, PhD Acknowledgements: Claude Hemphill, MD, MAS; Daiwai Olson, PhD, RN; Paul Vespa, MD; Javier Provencio, MD   In 2018, a panel of multidisciplinary experts gathered at the NCS Blue Ocean Strategy meeting and set forth a grand challenge for the society: to Cure Coma.   Since then, the Neurocritical Care Research Central (NCRC) and related subcommittees have worked diligently to identify and solicit expert opinions, define important knowledge ...

By Lauren Koffman, DO, MS              The Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) recently released the Brain Death Determination course to assist physicians on diagnosing brain death, created by David Greer, MD; Ariane Lewis, MD; Matthew Kirschen, MD, PhD; and Michael Rubin, MD. This group had previously worked together on the topic of brain death within the American Academy of Neurology, and had the opportunity to design the most practical and up to date brain death course.  All members of the group have personal interests in the realm of brain ...

By Megan Barra, PharmD, (left) and Wren Sherrill ANP, (right) on behalf of the NCS Trainee Section  The Neurocritical Care Society’s (NCS) Trainee Committee is excited to announce that it is accepting applications for the fourth year of the NCS Mentorship Program formally held from January – December 2020!  Mentorship is instrumental to healthcare professional development, and many leaders within NCS attest to the importance that mentors have served in their career trajectory over time. Developing relationships between established and new practitioners ...

By Roy Poblete, MD, David Seder, MD, Gene Sung, MD     Since the first Emergency Neurological Life Support® (ENLS) course, there has always been a great deal of interest in developing an advanced learning follow-up course. The Neurocritical Care Society is now proud to present the brand-new Essentials of Neurocritical Care (Essentials) course. Essentials had its inaugural workshop at the 17 th Annual Meeting of the Neurocritical Care Society in October 2019 in Vancouver, Canada.   Over the two-day course, attendees received comprehensive ...

By Pouya Alexander Ameli, MD, MS Neurocritical Care Fellow, Emory University Chair-Elect, Trainee Section   Naomi Niznick, MD PGY3 Neurology Resident, The Ottawa Hospital Trainee Section Leadership Committee     In Homer’s The Odyssey , Odysseus asks for his friend “Mentor” to watch after his son Telemachus while he fought in the Trojan War. When Odysseus does not return, Mentor’s wisdom is key in guiding Telemachus to discover what happened to his father.  From these ancient origins arises the modern concept of mentorship — to help ...

Updates to Emergency Neurological Life Support® (ENLS) training reflect the most up-to-date, best practice for treating patients with acute neurological disorders. The Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) recently announced the launch of Version 4.0 of its ENLS training. ENLS is a comprehensive educational program created by NCS to help healthcare professionals manage patients during the critical first hours of a neurological emergency. ENLS demonstrates a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach and provides a consistent set of protocols, practical ...

By Ryan Hakimi, DO, MS, FNCS, NVS With the support of Fredy J. Revilla, MD, and Charles Kanos, MD, the Chiefs of Neurology and Neurosurgery, respectively, a unified Neuro ICU Service was started at Prisma Health–Upstate's Greenville Memorial Hospital (GMH), the principal teaching hospital of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine's Greenville campus in 2018.   Initially, Ryan Hakimi, DO, MS, FNCS, NVS, was recruited to start a neurology-based neuro ICU in 2016, after having done the same at the University of Oklahoma. At the time, neurology ...

By Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza, MD, MSCI Assistant Professor University of Mississippi Medical Center Aleksandra Yakhkind, MD, MS Neurocritical Care Fellow University of Pennsylvania Health System Guest Advisor: Chitra Venkatasubramanian, MBBS, MD, MSc, FNCS Clinical Professor Stanford University Do you have questions regarding your professional life? Is there a conundrum at work that requires an outside perspective? The Trainee Section and Women in Neurocritical Care (WINCC) Section have teamed up to publish ...