Training of Recently Recruited Healthcare Professionals to Intensive Care Units and High Dependency Units Using Simulation Methods: “Management of Critical Situations, a Major Challenge for Patients’ Safety”

Abstract

Health professionals in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Centre Hospitalier Bretagne Atlantique and at the Training Centre for Health Professionals at Vannes have comprised a training course to manage critical situations in ICU and High Dependency Units (HDU). This training course was designed to counteract the following observations: 1) Registered General Nurses (RGNs) working on the wards in France do not have access to a qualifying ICU specialization course; initial RGN training does not enable nurses to be fully autonomous in the management of unexpected events in highly technical environments; however, such expertise is necessary in order to be fully effective in emergency situations where the vital prognosis of the patient is at stake. Considering these observations, some critical events that can arise in professional practice have been sequenced and made the subject of simulated practice training. RGNs in our catchment area that have been recruited to ICUs have been able to experience these situations via healthcare simulation. This method is particularly adapted to the development of specific skills within the ICU context as the course includes analysis of practices, reflection on actions taken or to be taken, further knowledge input, implementation of good practices and coordination of actions. The conclusions drawn from the training course in question are presented in this article.