Specific Leadership Activities: Mobility Examples
This section on mobility is reviewed in detail because it represents a significant change in the philosophy of how care is provided to critically ill patients and has a proportionately larger impact on the nursing staff than do other changes within the PAD guidelines. Immobility and bed rest have long been recognized as a cause of serious complications from critical illness, including pressure ulcer formation, thrombotic events, contractures, and skeletal muscle weakness and wasting.48 Yet sustained periods of bed rest resulting in immobility remain a widespread clinical practice in ICUs, particularly for patients receiving mechanical ventilation.49