To prepare RNs for the intensive care unit (ICU), the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) and Bluewater Health have teamed up to create a new critical-care education course. The course includes lectures, simulations, case studies and skills shadowing. “Not only are nurses receiving the fundamentals, they are provided hands-on experience through case studies in a simulation lab,” says Shane Helgerman, CKHA program director of critical care. Before the course was available locally, nurses in the community were sent to out-of-town workshops and online courses to acquire the necessary skills for working in the ICU. The course is facilitated by professional practice nurses, a registered respiratory therapist, and a stroke co-ordinator, with support from the Neurosurgery Education and Outreach Network. “We hope that by offering the...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, the Bluewater Health program director for critical care. (The Chatham Daily News, Aug. 20)