ICU Night Shifts: A Survival Guide for Junior Doctors

ICU Night Shifts are where junior doctors are truly tested. When senior support is off-site, staffing is thin, alarms are constant, and patients are one step away from collapse, you are no longer just a doctor - you are the physiologist, the decision-maker, and the last line of defense. This book is a practical, real-world survival guide for ICU junior doctors working night shifts. It does not re-teach textbook theory or exam definitions. Instead, it focuses on what actually matters at 2 a.m. when a patient becomes hypotensive, hypoxic, agitated, or suddenly deteriorates. Written in a clear, narrative-driven style, this book walks you through: - How to think like an ICU doctor at night- How to anticipate crashes before they happen- How to manage drips, ventilators, sedation, and pressors safely- How to handle common ICU night emergencies with confidence- How to work effectively with ICU nurses, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists- How to survive the mental and emotional pressure of ICU night shiftsWhat makes this book different- Night-shift focused: written specifically for after-hours ICU care- Physiology-first approach: understand why patients are failing, not just what to prescribe- Trend-based thinking: learn to read lactate, pressor creep, urine output, and ventilator changes before arrest happens- Real ICU scenarios: hypotension, hypoxia, agitation, CRRT, cirrhosis, prolonged ventilation, and emergency transfers- No fluff, no exams: only what keeps patients alive overnightWho this book is for- ICU junior doctors and residents- Internal medicine and anesthesia trainees rotating through ICU- Emergency medicine doctors covering ICU nights- New ICU fellows wanting a strong night-shift foundation- Any doctor who has ever felt that quiet fear when the ICU phone rings at night