b'CRITICAL CARE RESIDENCYErica ZelonisRN, BSN, CRRN NURSE EDUCATOR I CRITICAL CARE/INTENSIVE CARE UNITEssentials of Critical Care Orientation (ECCO)is an AmericanECCO specifically focuses on the common conditions experienced Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) supported approachby acutely ill patients requiring critical care or intermediate care to remote training that easily blends into an existing orientationnursing. It teaches to identify, evaluate, anticipate and continually plan. It provides up to 75 hours of evidenced-based learning, bothassess for acute changes in a patients condition, complications, as online and interactive case-based content that features a virtualwell as monitoring the effectiveness of interventions and care plans. application, multimedia elements and knowledge checks designed to ensure learner engagement, as well as provide learning outcomesThrough the implementation of the ECCO program, we realizethat last. ECCO provides nurses with consistent training anda more confident and advanced knowledge and skill level in the new knowledge to confidently achieve optimal outcomes for patients. critical care learner. It promotes regular application of the content learned and promotes active participation in ongoing learning, For Concord Hospital, and throughout healthcare, it has becomecritical thinking, decision making and performing critical care level increasingly common to hear new graduate nurses desire to work interventions in a supportive and safe learning environment. in the critical care setting directly after graduating nursing school.In an effort to support new nurses, as well as new critical careOne of the ICU nurses, Becca Putnam emphasized that, ECCO learners, and provide the knowledge, skill and thinking needed creates a safe place to play and learn all the different critical care to be successful, we launched this proven residency using the scenarios while being able to fully grasp the why. ECCO model. To date, we have enrolled 22 nurses in the ECCO residency. Moving As seen through the evidence of those organizations that haveforward, ECCO will become a standard orientation approach for implemented this program, there have been three primarycritical care nurses. I think implementing ECCO has allowed nurses outcomes supported; increased safe patient care, increasedto accelerate their orientation, especially new graduate nurses. knowledge and increased nursing confidence to care for theOrientation has shortened on average from 6 months (prior to critically ill.ECCO) to between four to five months in length, said Zelonis. As we continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the total program, ECCO consists of content modules presented in a body systemsECCO creates a safe place to play and learn all the different criticalcare scenarios while being able to fully grasp the why.approach with accompanying virtual examinations that verify awe believe there is value in expanding this orientation approach to nurses level of concept mastery. Program content can be trackedother intensive and intermediate patient care areas throughout the by critical care educators to ensure the nurse user is progressinghealth system. through each module. ECCO is now considered the gold standard of critical care information as reviewed and updated by AACN.As an ECCO participant, ICU nurse, Marc Shibilia shared that, it [ECCO] is definitely a great introduction to critical care for both new graduate nurses and new ICU nurse learners.P E O P L E | I N T E G R A T I O N | T R A N S F O R M A T I O N38'