Beyond the Bedside: Fostering Support for CTICU Nurses Through Simulated Experience

Introduction: CTICU nurses manage complex, life-threatening conditions under intense demands, yet their work is often misunderstood, contributing to isolation and burnout. To foster understanding and support, our CTICU Simulation Education team created “Day in the Life” (DITL), an immersive experience allowing support people (close friends/family) to witness the realities of intensive care nursing without compromising patient privacy. We describe the planning, implementation, and outcomes of this event.


Methods: We used mixed-methods research design. We created a needs assessment to identify common decompression practices, sources of validation, and challenges in sharing work experiences. The DITL event was hosted over two weekend days in a simulated CTICU environment. Stations included: Nursing Skills, Anatomy of the Heart, Post-Operative Patient, and Family Perspectives. Pre and post event surveys were administered to support people. Thematic analysis used Claude AI for qualitative data, and Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for quantitative data. The primary outcome was understanding CTICU nurse roles.


Results: 66 nurses completed the needs assessment; 90% (n=59) reported decompressing outside work, but only 60% (n=40) found it easy. Colleagues were the primary source of validation (73%, n=48). Four key themes emerged: professional isolation, peer validation, limited family support, and diverse coping strategies. DITL was attended by 201 people; 67 pre- and 22 post-event surveys were collected. Nurses prioritized sharing the emotional side of their work (56%, n=98). Support people cited emotional aspects as most challenging (49%, n=30). Nurses rated support people's understanding significantly lower than support people rated themselves for both practical (median 5 vs. 7, p=0.0002) and emotional (median 6 vs. 8, p< 0.0001) aspects. Post-event, support people's understanding improved significantly: practical (7.5 to 10, p=0.001) and emotional (8 to 9, p=0.005).


Conclusions: DITL effectively increased support person understanding of CTICU nurses' practical and emotional responsibilities. This low-risk, high-impact simulation model may reduce burnout and foster empathy in a novel way by including external support. Future events are expanding to other disciplines to broaden impact.