Two critical care nurses at the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown spent two days in Baltimore recently attending the Fundamental Critical Care Support Course, developed and certified by the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Laura Matthews, RN, and Michael Parker, BSN, RN returned to Chestertown having learned a great deal from the lectures and related skill station activities that will benefit the hospital’s critical care patients.
“I am now a more competent intensive care nurse, and this level of training allows us to care for patients here rather than having to send them elsewhere for critical care,” Matthews said.
The training was held at the Simulation Center in the Critical Care Tower of the University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The 10,000-square-foot medical simulation area, which includes four configurable labs, classrooms and debriefing areas, provides medical professionals with the facilities to train for real-life scenarios found in the hospital.
“We are fortunate that we are so close to Baltimore with its top-rated health care centers,” said Matthews. “We have access to so much education and experience. People came from all over the country to attend this course. “
“The experience was very specialized,” Michael Parker said. “It was very comprehensive and hands-on. It concentrated on implementing practical skills such as airway management and sepsis control and updated us on more complex practices that are important to critical care. Here at Chestertown we have more independence given the rural setting of our hospital. We need to have good critical thinking and decision-making skills to meet the challenges we face.”
More nurses from Chestertown will be attending the Fundamental Critical Care Support Course, according to the hospital’s Inpatient Nurse Manager, Sandy Prochaska.
“Laura and Michael were the first two to attend the course and four more will be attending in October,” Prochaska said. “Laura gave a presentation recently to the nursing staff about the course, and we were very impressed with what it covered and how it meets the needs of our unit.”
Funding for attendance at this course is provided in part by the Chester River Health Foundation. The Foundation, an affiliate of Shore Regional Health, raises funds for the UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown and the UM Shore Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Chestertown.
As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,500 employees, medical staff, board members, and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.
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