Summary
A purpose written and regularly updated course manual takes the place of lectures. It is essential reading before attending as an introduction to underpinning knowledge and base for discussions that will be developed in the workshops. We recommend that you plan for this part of the course to take 1-day of private study and preparation.
The 1-day face-to-face course that follows is delivered predominantly through small interactive group workshops led by experienced critical care practitioners.
Who is it aimed at?
Throughout the course we kept in mind that we are trying to help you to understand the fundamental aspects of critical care and that it is relevant to UK practice.
It is intended to be equally suitable for nursing staff, medical staff, critical care practitioners and other allied healthcare specialists engaging in the care of the critically ill, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. You will benefit in the workshop sessions from the collaborative approach that exists when these groups work and learn together.
On the medical front, it is intended to meet the needs of any core trainee with an interest in critical care, whilst also offering the opportunity for early specialist trainees to consolidate knowledge or for keen foundation doctors to stretch themselves.
Nursing staff will gain the vital knowledge and understanding required for taking on higher levels of responsibility within critical care, and critical care practitioners will find it useful in promoting high standards in the care they deliver and for their own career paths.
Course aims
Stepping into a critical care unit for the first time as a healthcare provider is unlike any other experience in medicine. Surrounded by banks of hi-tech equipment, the very sickest patients in the hospital are tended to by scores of people from a wide multidisciplinary team, whilst the emotions of often desperate friends and families are only too evident. This mix of technology, teamwork and tension makes for an exciting, hopefully inspiring, but daunting environment when it is first experienced. Yet those who are drawn into critical care soon find themselves learning the trade and find themselves taking on the roles that seemed such a long way off at first sight.
This course intends to supplement existing educational opportunities and help contextualise that learnt in clinical practice by providing a solid knowledge base. This will help those within critical care to progress from the early stages through to confident, key decision-makers within the team. Whilst those completely new to critical care may find the course quite detailed, and those approaching the FICM exam would find it lacks sufficient detail, it is aimed at helping everyone in between to gain knowledge and confidence in their work.
On completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance for your continuing professional development records. Certification does not confirm competence in the skills described but we are confident it will reflect that you know and understand more than before you attended the course and had a great day getting to that point.
People who have been on the course describe it like this
Interesting, Informative, Useful, Helped me to understand more about critical care, A really good format to learn what I needed to know.