This issue of Critical Care Nursing Quarterly presents articles on several diverse topics including clinical innovations in practice. The findings from studies and research of authors representing the global arena of critical care are great starting points for refining practices and enhancing the ways we interact with our patients.

Several articles deal with new approaches to common problems such as clinical emergencies and coping with the challenges of supporting mechanically ventilated patients in an effort to improve their outcomes and shorten the length of stay in the intensive care unit. Others focus on specific strategies to prepare staff to deliver optimum care and to relate to the patients and their families in a more constructive way. One article suggests helpful measures to eliminate communication deficits that often occur during the hectic processes of patient transfers. The issue would be incomplete without some refreshing information on the human emotions, ethical dilemmas, and struggles in conscience that nurses face regularly as they cope with life and death situations.

The quest to optimize care of patients in the intensive care environment is shared universally among nurses. Management teams in large medical centers and small hospitals throughout the world are struggling to overcome obstacles posed by limited resources, both human and material. However, each shares the objective to optimize patient care outcomes. This requires the creation of a healthy and emotionally satisfying environment for staff. It is only upon this secure playing field that professionals can continue to deliver care with competence and compassion.

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

Issue Editor