Transition to Intensive Care
Transition programs have been identfied as important recruitment and retention strategies for critical care units. In 2004 the NSW chief nursing and midwifery officer (CNMO) established two steering groups to develop transition programs for intensive care and emergency.
Work on the first stage of the Transition to ICU (Specialty Nursing) Project is now complete. The Chair of the Working Party, Martin Boyle (POW), Tina Kendrick (CHW / ACCCN), Linda Williams (SSWAHS / Co-chair of the ICU Taskforce) met with the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (CNMO) Adjunct Professor Debra Thoms and Susie Lang (NaMO) on 19 February 2008.
At this meeting the Final Report and Recommendations were formally presented and the ensuing discussion was very positive and productive. More information about how the recommendations will be addressed will be provided once the CNMO has met with representatives from the Transition to ED Working Party. This group has been traveling a similar path and the degree of overlap between ICU and ED and the core elements that exist in curricula for both Critical Care areas is acknowledged. There may be opportunities for sharing expertise and experience and both programs could benefit from utilising experts from both areas.
Publications
- Survey of Nursing Education Resources in NSW ICUs (Poster from 2008 Asia Pacific Critical Care Meeting held in Sydney Australia Oct 30-November 2 2008)
- Transition to Intensive Care Nursing: Establishing a Starting Point (Poster from 2008 Asia Pacific Critical Care Meeting held in Sydney Australia Oct 30-November 2 2008)
- Boyle M, Butcher R, Conyers V, Kendrick T, MacNamara M and Lang S (2008) Transition to intensive care nursing: Establashing a starting point. Australian Critical Care, 21(4): 175-226
