Introduction to Critical Care (Level 7)

This is an online module offering a combination of flexible independent study and live online seminar sessions to support your learning.

Key bioscience disciplines, such as anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology will be introduced along with critical care patient management strategies. This provides a strong foundation to support your development within critical care.

Who is it for?

It is suitable for health professionals who are new and wish to extend their skills and knowledge in critical care practice and are currently involved in the care of acutely/critically ill patients.

Timetable

This module will run over a 3 month period.

Tutorials will run from 10am to 4pm.
(attendance is required and these sessions are recorded)

Term 1

Tutorial 1: Wednesday 2 October 2023 (on-campus teaching)

Tutorial 2: Wednesday 16 October 2023 (online teaching)

Tutorial 3: Wednesday 30 October 2023 (online teaching)

Tutorial 4: Monday 6 November 2023 (online teaching)

Tutorial 5: Monday 20 November 2023 (on-campus teaching)

Online Examination: Tuesday 16 January 2024 (online)

Term 3

Tutorial 1: Monday 22 April 2024

Tutorial 2: Tuesday 7 May 2024

Tutorial 3: Monday 20 May 2024

Tutorial 4: Monday 3 June 2024

Tutorial 5: Monday 17 June 2024

Online Examination: TBC

Benefits

This introductory module will provide an excellent foundation in critical care and permit onward progression for your qualification in Critical Care (CAM001/CA3001).

This module is 15 credits and can be taken as a stand-alone module or contribute to a University degree or award.

This module will allow you to critically evaluate fundamental concepts for specialist practice with content that reflects the broad nature of Intensive Care practice.

The module syllabus typically includes:

• Patient physical assessment
• Physiology and pathophysiology of:
  • Respiratory system
  • Cardiovascular system
  • Renal System
  • Gastrointestinal system
  • Neurological system
  • Commonly used pharmacology in each system
• Investigations, interpretation, and application of results
• Psychosocial care of the patient and their family

Treatment modalities will be introduced, such as:

• Introduction to advanced respiratory support
• Introduction to cardiovascular monitoring
• Renal replacement therapy

Evidenced based practice

• Tools for searching and selecting evidence from a range of sources

Additionally, related concepts on professionalism, wellbeing and team work will be addressed.

By the end of the course, you will be able to  safely contribute towards the care and management of critically ill adult patients.

There is a total of 21 hours online face-to-face sessions in the form of webinars, lectures and online discussion activities.

Self-directed learning using provided online material is in addition to these sessions. We will encourage you to prepare for your sessions and direct you towards key literature and recent research.

Throughout the module, you will participate in a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies, such as:

• Online lectures, both synchronous (participants are engaged at the same time online) and asynchronous (you need to plan time to engage with these, so you are prepared for your synchronous sessions).
• Online seminars in small groups to discuss materials related to your online lectures
• Case based learning via tutorials and independent work
• Guided independent study
• Work-based learning through the support of your clinical mentors

Assessment:

You are required to pass the online open book exam to successfully complete the module. The pass mark for the module is 40% for level 6 students and 50% for level 7 students.

You will be given opportunities to test your knowledge and understanding in mock exams, interactive quizzes and activities, with feedback throughout the module.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

You must be a registered nurse working within a critical care unit and have the support of your line manager to undertake this module.

English requirements

For those students whose first language is not English the following qualification is also required:

• IELTS: 7.0

You will be accessing contemporary online critical care journals and literature from nursing, medical and allied health professional sources.

We will also suggest material during the class and provide a comprehensive reading list on Moodle.