Advocacy Committee: Annual Updates
By Peter J. Papadakos, MD, FCCM, FAARC
The Advocacy Committee has been very
active this year working to bring a greater
understanding of the neurocritical care field
not only to health professionals, but also
to our patients and their families. Over the
years we have developed a visiting room
information brochure, which informs patients
and families of the scope of neurocritical
illness, the team members involved in patient
care, and the pathophysiology of various neurocritical illnesses.
This brochure has been translated into a number of languages
and can be obtained from the society in both print and electronic
formats.
This year we have continued our public awareness campaign
with the development of a PowerPoint presentation. Members
can use the presentation for grand rounds within their
hospitals to inform colleagues about the role of neurocritical
care units and professionals in the treatment of this subgroup
of critically ill patients. This slide set can also be used to
educate prehospital personnel in the community and lay public
relations groups. The public has been made aware of advances
in stroke care and needs to know the level of care available for
themselves and their families.
The other major project we hope to complete in 2017 is the
history project. We believe this endeavor is at the core of our
mission as a committee. NCS has evolved into a multifaceted
professional organization with physicians, nurses, researchers,
pharmacists, and other health professionals and administrators
joining our ranks. Our members should learn about the roots
of our society. Committee members have gone through archives
of meeting minutes and photos and interviewed NCS founding
members and leaders about how this organization began and
how it evolved into what it is today. We are developing a
manuscript to publish in our journal, so that the membership
and our trainees can understand how a specialty in medicine was
born through the hard work of a diverse set of individuals not so
many years ago.
The Advocacy Committee has also been busy keeping track of
our field’s growth by developing a list of neurocritical care units
and training programs. In addition, we are collaborating with
other committees to examine how reimbursement and salaries
vary across the U.S. and the world. This information may be a
key piece of knowledge for residents and fellows as they choose
their specialty.
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