INTRODUCTION Welcome to The ICU Notes — a collection of the high-yield, practical, and clinically relevant pearls I’ve gathered over years of training and practicing as a triple board–certified intensivist. These pages were born out of the same reality every ICU clinician faces: Critical illness is hectic. And at 3 AM, you need clarity, not paragraphs. This guide is exactly that — clear, concise, and built for real-world critical care. This is not a textbook. This is an EBOOK It’s not meant to replace guidelines, protocols, or your attending’s oversight. It’s simply the notebook I wish I had on day one. This is designed to make you smarter & more confident at the bedside — whether you’re a med student stepping into the unit for the first time, a nurse always at the bedside, a resident running a sick call night, a fellow refining your flow, an APP managing a full census, or a new attending finding your voice in the ICU. Critical care is a team sport — and my hope is that this guide supports you in becoming the clinician your patients need and your colleagues rely on. A couple things to note: All references are listed in the endnotes that follow. Click any footnote marker in the text to jump to the corresponding endnote, then click the linked title to access the source. At the bottom of every topic if I made an lecture video on Tiktok it is hyperlinked for you to watch it to digest the information better, comment on the video any questions you have. Welcome to the unit.
