Nurse Upskilling During Crisis: Collaborating for Continuing Education

Abstract

Background: As rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reached pandemic levels in early 2020, the need for intensive care unit (ICU) nurses with mechanical ventilator knowledge increased. In response to the pandemic, hospital systems with limited resources reported moving ICU nurse educators to direct patient care roles and reassigning non-ICU nurses to work in the ICU. With fewer resources to educate non-ICU nurses and many newly assigned nurses reporting feeling unprepared for work in the ICU, the need for an accessible and scalable introduction to ICU nursing became clear. Method: Our team responded by creating a free, online, self-paced, asynchronous course introducing the ICU nursing setting. Results: More than 4,000 learners worldwide have enrolled in the course, with 94% of survey respondents expecting the course to positively impact their institution. Conclusion: Our project shows an approach to effective collaboration among clinical partners, instructional designers, and nursing experts to address critical needs in continuing education in nursing. [ J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(5):257–260.]