A training programme of healthcare professionals in intensive care skills has been funded by the European Commission to support the EU healthcare systems and clinicians at the front line dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The training is focused on Intensive Care Fundamentals for Healthcare Professionals not regularly working in Intensive Care Units (ICU). It will be managed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and aims to promote the concept of a 'healthcare army' in case of deployment during potential surges of COVID-19.

The training will be conducted across EU hospitals with Intensive Care capacity with the support of national intensive care societies and national health ministries, national champions, local trainers (intensive care physicians and nurses) and trainees. The programme includes online self-learning and local face to face training sessions. The curriculum includes topics such as:

• Introduction to ICU;
• Personal safety, donning and doffing of personal protective equipment in times of COVID19;
• The ICU Patient: General Aspects & Admission Sequence;
• Basics of respiratory support;  Basics of hemodynamic monitoring;
• Sepsis and infections;
• Other Aspects of ICU Care;
• Team care.

Whereas the online training will be delivered with the support of webcasts and podcasts, face-toface sessions will be delivered with the aid of an Educational Tool Kit in the local language, consisting of innovative and realistic immersive learning resources, including VRE glasses. An ICU shadowing day in the local hospital is recommended following the local face to face event. The training follows a common structure, with two tailored learning pathways, for doctors and nurses respectively. The programme content is flexible and adaptable for each participant, taking into consideration any training previously completed in the field.

Participants who successfully complete the training will receive a Certificate endorsed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) along with CME/CNE credits.

The training is free of charge and is available for every doctor and nurse working in a hospital with an Intensive Care Unit, in all 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom. All hospitals with intensive care facilities are eligible to join the training programme, with no distinction made regarding the ownership, category or level of the hospital (regional, national, reference, specialised or general). Hospitals can support local trainers, disseminate the training programme among their teams, organize the logistics of the local face-to-face training component and provide information to the training coordination team.

The training will open the online platform for its trainees on 3 November and will run until the end of December 2020. Due to limited availability of healthcare professionals in such difficult times, registrations for the training programme remain open until the end of the year.

In case of interest, please contact with FSJD Research Foundation.