The Awake & Walking ICU: Transforming Critical Care with Kali Dayton

Sedation is not neutral. Immobility is not harmless. What we do in the ICU follows patients long after discharge.

In this powerful episode of Nurse Rosa’s INsights, I sit down with Kali Dayton, DNP, AGACNP, critical care nurse practitioner, consultant, and founder of the Awake and Walking ICU movement. Kali shares how working in a unit that prioritized mobility and minimal sedation completely changed the way she understood critical care and why she now trains ICU teams nationwide to implement the ABCDEF bundle.

We explore what truly happens when patients are deeply sedated. We unpack delirium, long-term cognitive harm, and the cultural norms that intensified during COVID when many ICUs shifted further toward sedation and away from mobility.

Kali has walked into ICUs across the country and seen dramatic differences in patient care practices. What she found is clear. Outcomes improve when patients are awake, mobile, and engaged even while critically ill.

This is a conversation about challenging outdated practices, elevating nursing advocacy, and embracing interdisciplinary collaboration to transform patient outcomes.

If you care about critical care, sedation practices, delirium prevention, or patient-centered ICU transformation, this episode is essential listening.

Learn more at: www.DaytonICUConsulting.com

Connect with Kali Dayton on social media  @DaytonICUConsulting        

Find host Rosa Hart on social media @NurseRosaSpeaks