Cairns ICU prides itself on providing high quality education for medical and nursing staff at all stages of training.
Protected teaching time
All JMO’s are rostered to 4 hours per fortnight of protected teaching time, including didactic teaching, interactive lessons and and dynamic simulation program.
There are weekly Educational and QA meetings including Paediatric Case Reviews, Morbidity and Mortality meetings, Case Based Discussions, Journal Club and Audit Presentations.
Provisional Fellow Year
Cairns ICU offers a CICM accredited, 12 month general fellow year. This position provides the opportunity to develop the skills needed to be ready for consultant ICU work, with increasing clinical independence throughout the year in a supportive environment. Fellows are encouraged to undertake a non-clinical portfolio and consolidate skills in areas of particular interest such as paediatric, echo, or education.
Examination Preparation
Cairns ICU runs a structured CICM Primary Exam teaching program every 6 months supporting trainees through both the written and oral component of the first part examination.
Hot Case and Written practice is available for Advanced Trainees preparing for their fellowship examination. There is a Fellowship Examiner and soon to be 2 Primary examiners working in the unit.
Nursing Education
There are many opportunities to grow through education and training for those at all stages of their nursing career in our ICU. We support novice Registered Nurses (RNs) with our nurse educators and clinical facilitators and through a comprehensive Statewide ICU postgraduate program. This program includes accredited units towards a Graduate Certificate in ICU with QUT and Griffith Universities.
We have a structured curriculum that equips nurses with in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience in advance life support, renal replacement therapy, advance cardiac support as well as paediatric intensive care nursing. We ensure mentorship and practical training are core to our education, to ensure the highest level of care for our patients
We have upskilling programs torwards ICU ACCESS, MET Team and Team Leader roles, and regularly hold workshops for further learning.
Nurses participate in our weekly multidisciplinary simulation exercises.
Paediatic Critical Care
With more than 50 paediatric admissions per year, most of whom remain in Cairns for the duration of their illness, trainees are exposed to a wide variety of paediatric conditions including common presentations such as bronchiolitits, pneumonia and trauma as well as more complex conditions such as congenital heart disease, rheumatic heart disease and intubated children. Cairns ICU is grateful for the support of Townsville PICU Intensivists to acheive high quality care in Cairns and FNQ.
Ultrasound Training
Ultrasound learning forms part of the regular JMO teaching, with exposure to vascular, lung, shock and echo ultrasound in the clinical setting. Trainees have access to a ultrasound simulator to supplement their learning.
Formal Echo training is available for trainees who have completed their primary examinations with access to hands-on tutoring, case discussions and didactic lessons with the view to completing CICM requirements and ASUM CCPU (FCE) qualifications.
Courses
Cairns ICU regularly runs courses including:
BASIC
Paeds BASIC
See the courses page for upcoming courses
Simulation
Cairns ICU is a dedicated pocket simulation centre, which means we can deliver multi-disciplinary simulation education sessions in a dedicated space within the ICU. This helps us to enhance and grow our simulation education capability and provide access to high-quality simulation equipment and training resources. We are supported by the Clinical Skills Development Service in Brisbane, who provide us with an extensive range of high-fidelity manikins including both adult & paediatric advanced life support as well as a variety of paediatric basic life support manikins. These are utilised in a wide variety of education activities for staff to enhance their clinical knowledge and confidence
