UniversityOfHealthCare has published the most cost-effective tool for developing critical care nurses with an electronic course including email access that accompanies the major textbook on critical care nursing.
(PRWEB) December 26, 2004 -- UniversityOfHealthCare and ALLEGRA Learning Solutions, both leading e-learning and healthcare solutions providers, announce the most cost-effective way to develop critical care nurses.
This program is of special interest to any organization that needs critical care nurses but is not prepared to develop and deliver the intensive classroom-based education and clinical preceptor training required to develop a critical care nurse or that lacks the substantial financial and staff resources necessary to teach such a program.
The companies are introducing an accredited, online Basic Critical Care Training Program designed to help your organization develop entry-level critical care nurses and save your organization thousands of dollars in training and development costs.
This 75-contact-hour program is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Commission on Accreditation and based on the textbook recommended by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses?the AACN Clinical Reference for Critical Care Nursing.
The Basic Critical Care Training Program is designed to be coordinated with a well-designed preceptor/mentor training program in a critical care unit so that, upon completion, the nurse will be able to provide safe, entry-level critical care nursing care. Once the online component of the program is successfully completed, the nurse is ready to begin working with a preceptor/mentor in a critical care unit.
The ability to access the course at any time and to email an instructor provides nurses with the flexibility of being able to learn the information at home, on their own time, and at their own pace. Access to an instructor is a valuable component that supports independent, critical thinking skills.
The Basic Critical Care Training Program is designed for any nurse who wishes to obtain a solid foundation of skills and knowledge needed to safely and effectively care for the critically ill patient. Nurses who are just beginning their careers, nurses currently working with critically ill patients, and nurses who wish to change their clinical emphasis and begin working in critical care units are excellent candidates for this program. It is also suitable for
· New graduate nurses
· Medical/surgical nurses
· Emergency department nurses (where critical care patients are held in the ED environment
· Surgi-center nurses
· Urgent care nurses
· Nurses who wish to work in an obstetrical ICU
· Nurses working in subacute care units
· Nurses working in step-down (or transcare) units
· Traveling nurses
· Pre-hospital nurses
Geri Wentz, RN, MN, CCRN, the main author of the course, and a specialist in critical care nursing, said, ?What does it take to keep a critical care unit running strong?
?The single strongest component for a strong critical care unit is a competent staff of nurses with a sound understanding of critical care patients. These competent nurses acquire a specific skill set that includes knowledge of the disease processes, the skill to perform interventions, and the ability to recognize the outcomes of their interventions as well as the outcomes of patient management as a whole.
?This critical care course offers nurses the opportunity to learn the core material of critical care nursing. The questions at the end of each module not only allow for validation of key concepts from the material but also force the learner to think beyond the basic information and progress into problem solving and critical thinking.?
The other authors are Cyndie Koopsen, RN, MBA, Caroline Young, MPH, and Daniel Farb, M.D.
The course consists of 28 modules, as follows: Cardiac (5 modules), Respiratory (6 modules), Neurological (5 modules), Gastrointestinal (3 modules), Hematology (2 modules), Endocrine (2 modules), Renal (2 modules), Special (3 modules). Each module has thinking questions that accompany the text.
UniversityOfHealthCare is a total e-learning solutions provider for management and healthcare. Its services include implementation of a learning management system, consulting, hundreds of web-based courses, and manual and CD publishing. For example, it has unique series on Bioterrorism, JCAHO and OSHA compliance, HIPAA training, Leadership, and much more.