Human factors play a vital role in improving intensive care practices. The articles in this issue reflect advances in technology, therapeutic interventions, and insights into how patients and their families interact with staff and daily care routines.

In the opening article, Chen and Malek offer their insights regarding novel uses for ultrasonography in emergency and critical care settings. Following, Carwell explains how targeted temperature management is useful for improving patient outcomes. These articles illustrate how the smart use of technology can make significant and positive impacts on patient care and reduce some of the caregiver burdens inherent in critical care monitoring.

Burkett, Bires, Cline and Knight explain crucial aspects of evaluating outpatient antimicrobial therapy. Farina and Miller outline steps for reversal of direct oral anticoagulation. Administration and regulation of pharmaceuticals are essential components of daily care and deserve to be highlighted among other strategies for care improvements.

Nurses struggle with ways to improve the patient's experience in the critical care unit. Faloon, Hampe, and Cline share their insights on bedside shift reports and patient satisfaction; Koss, Bires, Cline, and Mason outline their experiences with educational videos; Malek, Zakerimoghadam, Esmaeili, and Kazemnejad report findings on managing patient's anxiety and sleep after coronary bypass surgery. Younnis and Hayajneh target the quality of sleep experienced by patients in critical care settings. Binnekade and colleagues view factors related to length of stay and debate whether daily care goals have a significant impact on this core measure. Breisinger, Bires, and Cline consider how to reduce stress among family members of postcardiac surgical patients.

An interesting work regarding perceptual effects of physical and visual accessibilities in the intensive care unit (ICU) is presented by Rashid, Khan, and Jones. The preliminary part of this quasiexperimental study was reported in an earlier article appearing in this journal in 2016 (39:4).

Concluding the issue is an engaging research study about managing interruptions in the clinical setting. Henneman and colleagues present the Stay SAFE strategy for minimizing distractions that threaten patient safety.

This issue of Critical Care Nursing Quarterly offers new ways for nurses to approach some of the most challenging problems in the ICU. Understanding human factors is the first step in finding helpful solutions.

-Carmen G. Warner, MSN, RN, MDiv, FAAN

Issue Editor