What is precision medicine, and how should precision medicine be handled in the face of guidelines and protocols? In this episode of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Podcast, Diane C. McLaughlin, DNP, AGACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, speaks with Michael R. Pinsky, MD, FAPS, MCCM, about his Thought Leader presentation at the 2026 Critical Care Congress, The Effective Management of Shock: Moving From Physiology to Guidelines to Precision Medicine and Ultimately Personalized Medicine. The panel also discusses how to titrate care for individual patients. Protocols and guidelines are the foundation for patient care and are instrumental for having all healthcare professionals on the same baseline when treating patients. Precision medicine involves individualizing care for a specific patient, and Dr. Pinsky emphasizes that guidelines should never supersede an understanding of pathophysiology at the bedside, including observing your patient and paying attention to how individual patients respond to specific treatments. Monitoring the individualized response is required for the best care. Michael R. Pinsky, MD, FAPS, MCCM, is a professor of critical care medicine, bioengineering, and anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is also Docteur Honoris Casusa at the Université René Descartes Paris V School of Medicine in Paris, France. In 2012, he became one of the first 20 critical care physicians to receive a Master of Critical Care Medicine (MCCM) from SCCM. He is currently an emeritus (honorary) at UPMC. At the University of Pittsburgh, he is vice-chair emeritus for the Department of Critical Care Medicine and a faculty member at the Center for Critical Care Nephrology and the Center for Military Medicine Research. Resources referenced in this podcast: The Effective Management of Shock: Moving From Physiology to Guidelines to Personalized Medicine