01/13/2023

Friends of Franz Podcast S2 E4: The Case of CVICU Nurses with Dr. Danielle LeVeck (Nurse Abnormalities)

The American Heart Association relayed that the 1960s saw the first rise of coronary care units (CCU) in response to heart attacks. Today, cardiac ICUs, both medical and surgical, provide intensive care to a breadth of fatalities, ranging from arrest to post-open heart surgeries. The CVICU is seen to be a home for a "special breed" of nurses with its required list of complex skillsets, such as the titration of vasopressors drips and management of life support and assistive devices (e.g., ventilators, chest tubes, LVAD, ECMO, IABP, CVVH). How true is the "toxic" environment of surgical ICUs? What is the main reason for extended patient stay in the ICUs? Why are CVICU nurses usually given a bad rep on social media?

We are joined today by Dr. Danielle LeVeck, a dual board-certified Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. Her doctoral research focused on implementing palliative care for patients with end-stage heart failure. Working bedside in various cardiac ICUs for almost a decade, Dr. LeVeck is now a CVICU nurse practitioner and stands as one of the Healthcare Advisory Board of the medical apparel line FIGS. Beyond the hospital, she empowers all generations of nurses through her blog and online platform, Nurse Abnormalities, which she began in 2015 and has garnered over 170,000 subscribers while contributing to several magazines.