96 - Rob Mac Sweeney - The man behind Critical Care Reviews

2025-06-07

The guest on this episode is Professor Rob Mac Sweeney, who founded and leads the hugely valuable organisation Critical Care Reviews. Rob is a Consultant Intensivist at the Royal Victoria Hospital and an Honorary Professor of Practice at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Rob founded Critical Care Reviews back in 2008 and this has grown to now be holding two meetings a year where the largest trials in critical care are presented, critiqued and analysed. Critical Care Reviews also has a comprehensive website, a podcast and publishes a newsletter and a paper of the day, amongst other things, as a way of disseminating the most up to da...

The guest on this episode is Professor Rob Mac Sweeney, who founded and leads the hugely valuable organisation Critical Care Reviews.

Rob is a Consultant Intensivist at the Royal Victoria Hospital and an Honorary Professor of Practice at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Rob founded Critical Care Reviews back in 2008 and this has grown to now be holding two meetings a year where the largest trials in critical care are presented, critiqued and analysed. Critical Care Reviews also has a comprehensive website, a podcast and publishes a newsletter and a paper of the day, amongst other things, as a way of disseminating the most up to date science in critical care.

If you are fascinated about the story of the man behind Critical Care Reviews, you'll love listening to this.

In this episode, Rob talks about:

How Critical Care Reviews began as a simple website
His anxiety when he sent the first newsletter
How the website and newsletter developed into a scientific meeting
The attraction of trialists with their RCTs to the growing Critical Care Reviews meeting
The multi-media output of Critical Care Reviews
The importance of a consistent reading habit with the medical literature
The significance of high-quality production values for the Critical Care Reviews meeting
His passion of sharing science to improve patient care
How study investigators gain a slot at a Critical Care Reviews meeting
What he requests from study investigators submitting a study
The magical quality of significant study results being presented for the first time
How Critical Care Reviews expanded to hold a meeting in Melbourne
How he translates evidence into clinical practice
What’s unique about his ward round
His thoughts on the teaching and sharing of non-clinical skills
How his family provides solace from work
How he uses running to manage his wellbeing (often in the dark)
And, some closing advice

Please enjoy listening to Rob Mac Sweeeney.

Andrew Davies

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About the Mastering Intensive Care podcast: The podcast aims to inspire and empower you, through conversations about the human side of Intensive Care, to bring your best self to work, with a focus on compassion, collaboration and personal wellbeing.

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Relevant links

Dr Rob Mac Sweeney

Rob Mac Sweeney on LinkedIn

Critical Care Reviews

Critical Care Reviews 2025 (CCR25) Meeting - June 11-13, 2025

Critical Care Reviews Down Under 2025 (CCR Down Under 2025) Meeting - December 9-10, 2025

Critical Care Reviews Newsletter

Mastering Intensive Care podcast

Mastering Intensive Care page on Facebook

Mastering Intensive Care at Life In The Fast Lane

Andrew Davies on X (Twitter): @andrewdavies66