Bluewater Health (BWH) and Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) are happy to announce a collaboratively-created, Critical Care Education course. Designed to provide a hands-on learning experience, the course is specialized to the requirements of today’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Registered Nurse and includes:
- Lectures
- Hands-On Simulation
- Case Studies
- Skills Shadow Days
Previously, staff were sent to various out-of-town workshops and online courses to acquire the necessary skill-set for working within the ICU. These fundamental courses could potentially require nearly a year to complete. Recognizing the need for a more efficient process, BWH and CKHA were inspired to develop the in-house program with the goal to encourage nursing staff to consider a career in the ICU.
CKHA Program Director of Critical Care Shane Helgerman states, “Not only are nurses receiving the fundamentals, they are provided hands-on experience through case studies in a simulation lab.”
The course is facilitated by several professionals: Professional Practice Nurses, a Registered Respiratory Therapist, Stroke Coordinator, and support from the Neurosurgery Education & Outreach Network. Classes are offered 50 per cent at BWH and 50 per cent at CKHA to ensure staff at both organizations can access the course.
“We hope that by offering the Critical Care Education course, nurses will feel more confident to consider a position in the ICU knowing they will receive the fundamentals of critical care,” says Lisa Regan, BWH Program Director for Critical Care.
The inaugural session ran June 17, 2019 through June 28, 2019 with a total of eight nurses in attendance and all had overwhelming positive reviews for the course. BWH and CKHA plan to repeat the session this fall and are partnering with Lambton College to optimize hands-on learning with their state-of-the-art Simulation Lab.
