The Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) course prepares non-intensivists to manage critically ill patients for the first 24 hours until transfer or appropriate critical care consultation can be arranged. This course can be licensed and brought to an institution in two ways, through a traditional live, instructor-led course, or an online, instructor-led course. Both course methods share the same:
- 17 didactic lectures
- 9 case-based skill stations
- Pre- and posttests
- Companion textbook
- Certificate of successful course completion
- Requirements for successful course completion: attend all didactic sessions, successfully complete all skill stations, and achieve a score of 70% or higher on the posttest
At the completion of the course, learners will be able to:
- Prioritize assessment needs for the critically ill patient.
- Select appropriate diagnostic tests.
- Identify and respond to significant changes in the unstable patient.
- Recognize and initiate management of acute life-threatening conditions.
- Determine the need for expert consultation and/or patient transfer and prepare the practitioner for optimally accomplishing transfer.
Participation in, or completion of, this course does not confer any credential, nor does it satisfy any board certification requirement apart from the continuing education credit if offered for it. This course is not intended to replace, override, or conflict with any licensing or credentialing requirements.
Traditional Licensed Course
A live, instructor-led, two-day course is the traditional method for delivering the FCCS course. Licensed sites arrange for qualified instructors to deliver the 17 lectures and their related skill stations. Complete slide decks with speaker notes as well as administrative materials and forms are provided to each site. Textbooks are shipped to the site prior to the course dates, allowing learners to prepare for the live activity. The site coordinator administers the pre- and posttests and provides that information to SCCM, which prepares and ships certificates of completion to the site coordinator for distribution. The Fundamentals Sales Team can help sites that have not previously held a course find consultants who will lead the development of FCCS on site. The goal is for individual sites to become self-sustaining in their delivery of the FCCS program.
Online Licensed Course
Using the well-established materials from the traditional, instructor-led course, this format allows sites to more efficiently deliver the didactic educational content and creates flexibility for instructors and learners for the delivery of the hands-on skill stations. Online lectures were prepared by leaders in critical care and are delivered by professional presenters. Using a state-of-the-art online learning management system, participants complete the lecture portion of the course over four weeks. Pre- and posttests assure their mastery of the educational content. Course directors and coordinators can monitor the progress of students in real time through their personalized administrative dashboard. Participants who successfully complete of the online licensed course will receive a certificate of completion. In addition, those learners will receive continuing education (CE)/continuing medical education (CME) from SCCM for their completion of the lecture portion of the program.
Choosing Online vs. Live Course
The instructor-led, online version of this program relieves the instructor of gathering students into a single classroom and providing instruction for the many lectures required for this course. Instead the students receive links to the course hosted in the SCCM Learning Management System, where they automatically receive the pretest, view the lectures and listen to a professionally recorded version of the audio for each chapter, download PDFs of the slides for note-taking, and interact with the program through pop quizzes and other interactive content. Students may leave and return to continue where they left off. The course director views student progress via an online dashboard until the student completes the lectures by taking the posttest. Pre- and posttest scores are provided to both the student and the course director. The course director schedules skill station time for the course. Each student then participates in the hands-on skill stations at the hosting institution. In addition, CE/CME is provided for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists through SCCM for the online modules. Thus, the online version of the course greatly relieves the burden of hosting this program.
In the live instructor-led course version of FCCS, the course director, with the assistance of the course coordinator, has responsibility for planning, organizing, and conducting the course. These responsibilities include faculty selection, course logistics, obtaining equipment, establishing participant registration processes, and requesting necessary course resources (audiovisual equipment, skills station equipment, catering, etc.). Provision of CE/CME credits is also a course director/coordinator responsibility.
CE/CME |
Only if provided by the licensing institution |
6.5 hours provided by SCCM |
Location/Time |
A live in-person educational event, held at the institution’s discretion. |
Didactic sessions available online for 4 weeks prior to the scheduled skill stations. |
Skill Stations |
In-person at licensing institution |
In-person at licensing institution |
Cost (Tiered) |
$210 - $1,260 per course. Discounts for multiple courses. |
$630 - $3,780 per course. Discounts for multiple courses. |
Textbook |
Paid via learner fee |
Paid via learner fee |
Provider Certificate? |
Yes |
Yes |
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