You will find suggestions and guidelines below to assist you in planning for your course. Detailed timelines, sample schedules, equipment lists and forms are provided to site coordinators/directors by SCCM after course dates are set. The Institutional Relations Team at the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) can answer questions or discuss your plans with you. To reach a member of the team, please call +1 847 827-6869 or e-mail fccs@sccm.org.
To apply for an FCCS course license and purchase learners, please visit the Fundamentals portal. A username and password are required to log in. If you do not know this information, please e-mail fccs@sccm.org. Please note that each learner will receive a copy of the book and one certificate will be issued for each learner who successfully completes the course.
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 pre-test, 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 post-test. Pre/Post-test 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.
Course Requirements
- The first time a site or Course Director offers a course, Course Consultant mentorship and approval is required.
- Selection of a Course Consultant is the site’s responsibility. If problems are encountered, please contact the FCCS Institutional Relations Manager at SCCM headquarters.
- The Course Consultant may request an honorarium, not to exceed $1,000. The Course Director may negotiate a lower or pro bono fee schedule; however, nothing higher than $1,000 is advocated by the FCCS Program Committee, the SCCM Council, or the SCCM Executive Office.
- Travel expenses for the Course Consultant and any visiting lecturers will be reimbursed by the site.
- The Course Director must be an approved FCCS Instructor who has taught in at least two courses in the previous two years.
- The Course Coordinator will provide administrative, organizational, and other types of support. There are no other requirements for the Course Coordinator.
- Each course must have two approved instructors (may include the Course Director). All other lecturers may be clinical experts and associate instructors from a variety of areas and professions (e.g., nurse, physician assistant, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, and other specialist physicians).
- Skill stations may be operated by non-FCCS trained personnel, but integrity must be assured by the Course Director and the instructors.
- For the initial course to be presented, the Course Director and Course Coordinator will work under the direction of a Course Consultant who will mentor them with organization and administrative issues during setup, and personally evaluate the initial course presentation.
Administrative Process
When planning and administering an FCCS course, please use the following as a checklist.
- Choose the type of course (online instructor-led or live instructor-led).
- Purchase a course license and learners through the Fundamentals portal.
- Identify course dates (2 days for live instructor-led course or skill station dates/time for online Instructor-led course).
- Submit payment for license and learners to SCCM.
- SCCM forwards course materials to approved Course Director/Course Coordinator.
- Conduct course.
- Submit final course data (e.g., attendee test results, certificate requests, faculty listing) to SCCM via the Fundamentals portal.
- SCCM ships Certificates of Successful Completion to the site coordinator for distribution.
Continuing Education Credits
Online instructor-led: The online instructor-led format provides 6.5 CME credits for physicians, 6.5 contact hours for nurses and pharmacists.
Live instructor-led: SCCM does not have direct involvement in the course offering; therefore, SCCM cannot issue CE/CME credit to course participants. If the institution or course sponsor is a national or state accredited CE/CME provider, it may wish to grant CE/CME credit for the course. Typical credit for a 2-day course would be 15.75 CME credits for physicians, 15.75 contact hours for nurses and pharmacists.
Course Schedule
Course schedules generally are two full days. Alternative examples might include:
- Morning lectures followed by afternoon skill stations OR
- Two to three lectures followed by corresponding skill stations OR
- One lecture per week followed by corresponding skill station
General considerations about the sequencing of lectures and skill stations is presented in the detailed administrative materials provided to all approved sites. Variations from these suggestions are permitted for the convenience of participants.
FCCS Presentations
The modularized nature of the topics allows for the presentations to be emphasized and ordered in a variety of ways. The Cardiopulmonary/Cerebral Resuscitation and Acute Coronary Syndrome lectures may be omitted if all participants have achieved previous ACLS certification. If all participants have achieved previous ATLS certification, the lecture on Basic Trauma and Burn Support may be shortened or omitted, and the Airway Management lecture may be shortened or omitted if all participants are ACLS or ATLS certified.
Several lectures are optional based on the services provided at the institution holding the course. These include: Critical Care in Pregnancy, Ethics in Critical Care Medicine, and Critical Care in Infants and Children. All other course material should be presented.
- Recognition and Assessment of the Seriously Ill Patient
- Airway Management *
- Cardiopulmonary/Cerebral Resuscitation **
- Diagnosis and Management of Acute Respiratory Failure
- Mechanical Ventilation I
- Mechanical Ventilation II
- Monitoring Oxygen Balance and Acid-Base Status
- Diagnosis and Management of Shock
- Neurologic Support
- Basic Trauma and Burn Support ***
- Acute Coronary Syndromes **
- Life-Threatening Infections: Diagnosis and Antimicrobial Therapy Selection
- Management of Life-Threatening Electrolyte and Metabolic Disturbances
- Special Considerations
- Critical Care in Pregnancy
- Ethics in Critical Care Medicine
- Critical Care in Infants and Children: The Basics
* May be eliminated if ALL participants are ACLS or ATLS certified
** May be eliminated if ALL course participants are ACLS certified
*** May be eliminated if ALL participants are ATLS certified
**** Optional based on services provided by institution
FCCS Skill Stations
The following are the skill stations for teaching modular FCCS courses. The core skill stations are required. Additional skill stations can be added from the list to augment the educational objectives as seen fit by the committees developing the FCCS module.
Core skill stations (all required)
- Mechanical Ventilation I
- Mechanical Ventilation II
- Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation
Integrated skill stations (include at least one of the following)
- Integrated Sepsis A Scenario
- Integrated Sepsis B Scenario
- Integrated Airway Management and Hypovolemic Shock Scenario
- Integrated Hemorrhagic Shock Scenario
- Integrated Traumatic Brain Injury Scenario
- Recognition and Assessment of the Seriously Ill Patient
Skills Station Sample Equipment List
- Flip chart
- Resuscitation mannequin
- Low- or high-fidelity simulators
- Ventilator and circuit (graphic display on ventilator preferred)
- Test lung capable of altering resistance and compliance
- Gas source(s) as required to power ventilator
- Mask interface (nasal, oronasal, and/or full-face masks)
- Helmet
- Ventilator
- Nasal cannula and tubing
- Test lung
- LCD projector or some way to project image included with skill station