My name is Martiene Riedijk. My heart was stolen in the ICU during my internal medicine training which eventually lead to becoming an intensivist in 2016. I am passionate about the deepest wishes and concerns of my patients, about education, about teamwork and about sharing enthusiasm and knowledge. Joining forces with colleagues you trust always leads to the best patient care, I believe. In 2019 I switched careers to become associate medical director of the largest university hospital in The Netherlands. And guess what: also in my current position, excellent team work, open communication and curiosity are key to make it work! I’m very proud and privileged to organize another ResusNL episode in 2022. It will be… energy!

During my training years as internist, I discovered that I liked treating my patients in the Emergency Department most. In acute situations in the ED, I was often impressed by teamwork, but also challenged as by the differences in priorities and type of thinking. Through open communication and SoMe, I try to exchange knowledge with others involved in acute care. I am convinced that the ResusNL conference will be stimulating, innovative and provide new insights!

Working as an emergency physician resident, I discovered that I’m passionate about caring for the critically ill patient. After residency I focused myself on this group of patients and their care. However, to me this always is a team effort; wether it’s just you and your team of nurses and techs or the extended team of consultants from different specialties. In both cases clear communication and understanding eachothers’ points of view are key in working together. After working several years as an emergency physician, I recently switched to a job as medical director of an EMS organization. The importance of teamwork in caring for the critically ill is even more apparent in this profession.

I hope this next edition of ResusNL will again bring you and your collegues together, in caring for the critically ill patients.

Understanding eachother and training together still are the start of the great patient care we all want to deliver!

Treating critical patients is complex and challenging. It involves difficult decisions, time critical interventions and high stakes. In order to meet up with these requirements, we need to get all the basics right, work as a team in which each role is important and create a culture of excellence. To achieve this, we need to work with great passion for our patients every day. It is this passion what drives me to organize ResusNL, together with my colleagues. I am an anesthesiologist with a special interest in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and human factors. Next to my clinical work, I teach in various courses and am working on PhD research on airway management and ventilation during prehospital advanced life support. I am looking forward to meet you in Rotterdam!

I have worked in the Intensive Care department of both small peripheral hospitals and large academic hospitals. The number and type of patients differ, the treatments differ, the tools and teams differ, but there is one certainty, treatment of the critically ill patient is always a team effort. Often you need the skills of more than one team member, but how can you optimally use your team’s skills? Especially when working under pressure, often outside the intensive care, with a team that changes all the time. The complexity of the critically ill patient and team dynamics make working as an intensivist a great challenge. I have a special interest in the development of serious games, because you need to understand the cascade of how one decision affects the other and how our brain works. What I love about ResusNL is that it adds an extra dimension to medicine and physiology.

For me, the best part of working in a critical care setting is working together with all the different teammembers to deliver time critical patient care. It is also a great honour to be part of this conference committee. I believe we have jointly come up with a truly unique multinational multidisciplinary event.

An important reason my heart lies with acute internal care, is the continuous teamwork with different physicians and other health care workers to realize the best possible patient care. In my view, creating mutual understanding, respect and connection are essential to overcome barriers between medical specialties. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to join the ResusNL crew. I’m convinced your knowledge, skill’s and insides will be enriched after edition 2022, and you will get back to work being an even better team player!