Harvard Principles of Critical Care Medicine for Non-Intensive Care Specialists 2026

Harvard’s Principles of Critical Care Medicine course focuses on the recognition and management of seriously ill patients for clinicians who are not intensive care specialists. The curriculum addresses respiratory failure, ventilation, shock, sepsis, cardiovascular emergencies and bedside ultrasound, with additional teaching in hematologic and oncologic critical care. Neurologic, metabolic, gastrointestinal and toxicologic emergencies sit alongside sedation, communication and end-of-life care.

The September 15–18, 2026 program was offered by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with faculty from Harvard teaching hospitals. Its objectives and full topic list are retained below. This listing supplies study files; live audience-response sessions, faculty interaction and provider-platform access are not included.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

• Review the basic principles of mechanical ventilation and describe indications for noninvasive and invasive ventilation.
• Describe evidence-based approaches to the diagnosis and management of common infections in the ICU.
• Categorize different types of shock, describe the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, and formulate appropriate treatment strategies.
• Identify evidence-based management strategies for hypoxic respiratory failure, including high-flow nasal cannula, lung-protective ventilation, PEEP optimization, prone positioning, and VV ECMO.
• Describe current approaches to cardiogenic shock, including indications and contraindications for different forms of mechanical circulatory support.
• Describe the importance of point-of-care ultrasound in assessing volume status.
• Identify contemporary approaches to sedation in the intensive care unit.
• Recognize post-intensive care syndrome and describe best practices for its management.
• Identify best practices for caring for dying patients in the intensive care unit.

Topics

• Core Shock, Hemodynamics & Resuscitation

  • Welcome from the Course Directors

  • Shock and Vasopressors: A Case-Based Physiologic Approach

  • From Infusion to Ingestion: Best Practices for Oral Vasopressor Use in 2026

  • Red Alert Practical Tips for Managing the Patient with Hemorrhagic Shock

  • Burning Clinical Question: Should I Start Steroids for Shock?

  • Rapid Refresher: Sepsis in 2026

  • POCUS and More Practical Tips for Assessing Volume Responsiveness at the Bedside

• Cardiovascular Critical Care & Arrhythmias

  • Diagnosis and Management of Cardiogenic Shock in 2026

  • Quick Hit: NSTEMI in the ICU – What Do I Do?

  • Management of Ventricular Tachycardia in the ICU

  • Management of AFib and Other Arrhythmias What Every Intensivist MUST Know

  • Starting, Stopping, Bridging Anticoagulation for Atrial Fibrillation

  • The Anatomy and Physiology of Pacemakers and ICDs

  • Rapid Refresher: ECGs You MUST Know

  • Quick Hit: The Anatomy of an Echo Report – What Every Intensivist Must Know

  • Echo Essentials Every Intensivist Must Know

  • Mechanical Circulatory Support What Every Intensivist Must Know

  • Left and Right Heart Failure in the ICU: Tips and Tricks for Diagnosis and Management

  • Updates in the Management of Massive and Submassive PE: What’s New in 2026

  • Case Studies in Cardiac Critical Care

  • ACLS Pearls, Pitfalls and Practical Applications for the Intensivist

  • Burning Clinical Question: What Temperature Should I Target After ROSC?

• Pulmonary, Mechanical Ventilation & Airway Management

  • Rapid Refresher: The ABCs of ABGs

  • Vents 101: A Review for Beginners

  • Vents 102: Moving Your Knowledge from Plateau to Peak

  • Management of Respiratory Failure in 2026

  • Best Practices for Managing Asthma and ECOPD in the ICU

  • Burning Clinical Question: How Do I Do a Recruitment Maneuver?

  • Connecting Function to Physiology: HFNC and Other Respiratory Devices You MUST Know

  • Non-Invasive Ventilation in the ICU: Evolution, Evidence and the Expertise You Need

  • Burning Clinical Question: What Settings Should My Patient Be on for a Spontaneous Breathing Trial?

  • Practical Tips for Extubating Difficult-to-Wean Patients

  • Burning Clinical Question: Should I Transfer My Patient for Consideration of VV ECMO?

  • Quick Hit: Anatomy and Physiology of Chest Tube Drainage System

  • Pneumothorax Management for the General Intensivist

  • Burning Clinical Question: Should I Drain This Pleural Effusion?

  • Self-Study On-Demand: Tracheostomy Tips What Every Intensivist Must Know

• Infectious Diseases & Sepsis in Critical Care

  • Burning Clinical Question: What’s New in Pneumonia in 2026?

  • Five Infectious Disease Emergencies You Must Know

  • Respiratory Failure in the Immunocompromised Host: Is Anything Done Differently?

• Hematology, Oncology & Transfusion Medicine

  • Heme-Onc Emergencies You Cannot Miss

  • Diagnosis and Management of Neutropenic Sepsis

  • Rapid Refresher: What the Intensivist Needs to Know about Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant in the ICU

  • Cutting-Edge Cancer Therapies What Every Intensivist Must Know to Manage and Safely Transfer Patients

  • Rapid Refresher: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Toxicities the ICU Provider MUST Know

  • Burning Clinical Question: Does My Patient with ICANS Need the ICU?

  • Quick Hit: Tips for Anticoagulant Reversal

  • Tales from the Blood Bank What Every Intensivist Must Know

  • Burning Clinical Question: Does My Patient Have Acute Chest Syndrome?

• Metabolic, Renal & Endocrine Critical Care

  • Sugar, Sugar: Management of DKA and HHS in the ICU

  • What Every Intensivist Must Know – Part 1: Acid Base Disorders in the ICU

  • What Every Intensivist Must Know – Part 2: Electrolyte Abnormalities

  • Rapid Refresher: Nutrition in the ICU

• Gastrointestinal & Surgical Emergencies in the ICU

  • To Scope or Not to Scope: The Endoscopist’s Perspective of GI Bleeding in the ICU

  • Critical Care Management of the Patient with Liver Failure

  • Can’t-Miss Surgical Emergencies for the General Intensivist

• Neurological Emergencies & Neuro-Critical Care

  • Neuro Quick Hit: Diagnosis and Management of Seizures in the ICU

  • Neuro Quick Hit: The ABCs of IPH for the General Intensivist

  • Self-Study On-Demand: Altered Mental Status in the ICU: A Case-Based Approach

  • Self-Study On-Demand: Burning Clinical Question: Does My Patient Need a Head CT?

• Sedation, Toxicology, Addiction & Delirium Management

  • Beyond Sedation: Multimodal Management of Pain, Agitation and Delirium

  • Burning Clinical Question: When Do I Need to Stop Propofol for High Triglycerides?

  • Agitation and Aggression in the Critically Ill: A Psychiatrist’s Perspective

  • Tips and Tricks for Diagnosing and Managing Alcohol Withdrawal in Your ICU

  • Self-Study On-Demand: Quick Hit: Managing Opioid Withdrawal in the ICU

  • Rapid Refresher: Tylenol Toxicity in the ICU

  • Toxicology 101: Four Tips for the Intensivist

• Communication, Palliative Care, Quality & Humanizing the ICU

  • Burning Clinical Question: What Is a Time-Limited Trial?

  • Burning Clinical Question: How Can I Communicate with My Intubated Patient?

  • Practical Tips for Incorporating Palliative Care into the ICU

  • Critical-Illness Survivorship: What Every Intensivist Must Know

  • Humanizing Harm: Best Practices for Discussing Harm Experienced by Critically Ill Patients and Families

  • Humanizing the ICU: Strategies to Improve Care of Patients and Providers

  • Critical Thinking in Critical Care: Thinking Strategies to Minimize Cognitive Errors in the ICU

  • Artificial Intelligence in Action: Practical Strategies to Optimize Your ICU Performance

  • Self-Study On-Demand: Quality Control: CAUTI, CLABSI and HAPI Mitigation for Your ICU

  • Ripped from the Case Files: Challenging Cases in Critical Care