Awake Patients, Better Outcomes with Kali Dayton

Welcome back to Ditch the Labcoat! In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Mark Bonta sits down with Kali Dayton, nurse practitioner, international consultant, and the bold voice behind the Awake and Walking ICU movement. Together, they peel back the curtain on a common but rarely questioned practice in critical care: routine heavy sedation of patients on ventilators.

Kali shares her journey from a nurse in a pioneering ICU—where awake, mobile, intubated patients were the norm—to a world where comatose ventilator patients are the expectation. She unpacks the hidden harms of automatic sedation, sharing both eye-opening research and the heart-wrenching stories of ICU survivors who left with trauma, cognitive struggles, and fractured lives.

Dr. Bonta and Kali explore how culture, habit, and outdated beliefs have shaped critical care—and challenge us all to rethink what’s possible. Is it really safer, easier, or kinder to keep patients sedated? Or can presence, mobility, and human connection transform not just survival, but recovery?

Get ready to question what you thought you knew about the ICU, discover what’s already possible in some hospitals, and hear a call to action for compassionate, evidence-based change. If you work in healthcare—or might ever need it—this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss. Let’s ditch the lab coat and reimagine patient care, one episode at a time.

Episode Highlights

1. Rethinking ICU Sedation — Most ventilated patients don’t require deep sedation—remaining awake can actually improve outcomes and reduce harm.
2. Hidden Harm of Sedation — Automatic sedation often leads to delirium, long-term trauma, and cognitive impairment for many ICU survivors.
3. Awake and Walking ICU Model — It’s possible and beneficial to keep intubated patients awake and mobile; some ICUs already achieve this routinely.
4. Cultural Myths in Medicine — Common ICU practices persist due to unexamined traditions, not necessarily the latest evidence or patient-centered thinking.
5. Preventing Delirium Is Key — Early avoidance of sedation and encouraging mobility drastically decrease risks of ICU delirium and related complications.
6. Power of Patient Stories — Listening to ICU survivors reveals the real, lasting harms of unnecessary sedation and challenges clinical assumptions.
7. Team Buy-In Essential — Successful change requires educating and involving the entire healthcare team, from doctors to bedside nurses.
8. Early Mobility Saves Lives — Mobilizing patients—even walking them—within hours of intubation is not only feasible, but can improve recovery.
9. Family Involvement Matters — Informing and including families in care expectations helps calm patients and supports a less traumatic ICU experience.
10. Start Small, Lead Change — Begin cultural transformation with one patient, one team—small steps can drive a revolution toward better, humane care.

Episode Timestamps

05:14 — Challenges of Mechanical Ventilation
06:57 — ICU Nursing: Breathing Tube Walks
10:14 — ICU Norms Challenged: Breathing Tubes
13:16 — Pioneering Awake, Mobile Patient Care
19:11 — Awake and Walking ICU Initiative
22:06 — Rethinking Hospital DVT Practices
25:42 — Sedation Considerations Before Intubation
27:20 — Reducing Delirium in ICU Care
32:57 — Sedation: Not Just Laughing Gas
36:24 — Rounding Culture and ICU Challenges
39:08 — Improving ICU Care: ABCDEF Protocol
41:23 — Rethinking Patient Sedation Practices
44:14 — Improving ICU Patient Care
47:38 — Revolutionizing Awake ICU Care

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