Fundamental Critical Care Support training conducted in Omaha
By Lee Morrow, MD, Pulmonologist and
Kyle Rhone, RN, Simulation Educator
Nebraska Western Iowa Veterans Health Care System and Mobile Simulation Training Team
OMAHA, Neb. – During the week of June 5, Nebraska Western Iowa (NWI) Veterans Health Care System and the Mobile Simulation Training Team (MSTT) hosted the first Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) classes in Omaha. Dr. Lee Morrow and Dr. Adam Highley, two of only a handful of FCCS course directors in the Midwest, led the course with support from SimLEARN, NWI and MSTT. FCCS is designed for the non-critical care provider who is thrust, by circumstances, to care for the critically ill for up to 24 hours.
Examples of these situations could be a new family practice doctor moonlighting in a small rural Midwest emergency room during a winter night. It’s snowing outside and freeways are closed when a call on the radio comes in relating that they have a 43-year-old female patient who fell 40 feet from a grain elevator onto a pitch fork. Then another call comes in describing a 38-year-old male who was shot in the right leg with a large caliber pistol while cleaning his gun. Your mind starts racing … you’re not trained for this. As you start to mentally walk through the checklist of tasks to transfer these imminent patients to a higher level of care, you realize that the roads are closed, and nothing is going to be flying tonight.
The scenario presented above is not that unrealistic for smaller level 3 VA hospitals throughout the country. FCCS provides training in the assessment, intervention, re-assessment, teamwork and communication skills necessary to support a critically ill patient until a higher level of care is available. The training, designed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, utilizes case-based discussions and immersive simulation activities in a safe, non-threatening environment to reinforce online learning.
Learners from this first class in Omaha had this to say about the course:
“I will recognize decompensating patients more quickly.”
“In comparison to all the classes, in services, symposiums I have attended in the last 34 years, this class is the ‘BEST’ bar none, everyone involved in these situations should be able to attend these classes.”
“This class was Awesome! I really enjoyed this and have been telling my co-workers to take this class.”
NWI and MSTT is working to schedule more FCCS classes soon. Please stay tuned for this and more training in Omaha and throughout the catchment area.
To learn more about simulation training, click here.
To learn more about SimLEARN, click here.
