ACEN - the Australian College Of Emergency Nursing provides trauma and paediatric training courses for nurses

I just wanted to pass on our thanks to our instructors Janet and Richard for running TNCC here at PAH the weekend of 22/23 August. We had loads of fun and learnt a lot along the way!

"Could you please pass on our thanks to Janet as I don't have her email address - we loved her enthusiasm and her stories!."

Looking forward to the December course,

Kesha Bennett. Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane.

We had heard the TNCC was worth the effort however it was a competition between the three of us to complete the significant amount of readings with the last few pages completed over a glass of wine between days. Despite the some what daunting amount to read, it was well structured and reiterated the framework of the nursing assessment throughout. The subject matter was easy to read and only contained pertinent information.

"The hands on workshops were provided in a supportive learning environment and there was some opportunity to share anecdotal stories which is always very interesting and educational."

Despite learning the mnemonic throughout our nursing and specifically emergency nursing training it was great to refresh and apply it, particularly to trauma situations.

The catering for the course was delicious and provided much needed fuel for our well worked brains.

Thank you, we will definitely recommend the course to others.

Nicola Melton, Karen Brosnahan & Karen Ingham. Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane.

I applied to become an instructor for the TNCC and was advised by the Australian College of Emergency Nursing (ACEN) that I would need to complete the TNCC again as it had been a number of years since I last attended. The ACEN also advised me to apply for an ACEN scholarship to attend the TNCC and I was successful in gaining this. A condition of gaining this scholarship was that I write this report for their website post attending the course.

"The provider manual was extremely comprehensive and an interesting read. It provides an excellent basis, as it prepares you well for the lectures, exam and skill stations."

The course instructors were outstanding. The lectures were fast, clear and concise. They also provided heaps of examples from their own experience which made the lectures more interesting. The lecturers were also friendly, supportive and approachable.

The psychomotor skill stations were also an excellent method of reinforcing the lecture content and the provider manual.

I believe the course is brilliant for the novice emergency nurse due to the systematic assessment and management of the trauma patient therefore decreasing the risk of missing injuries. It is also an excellent course for the experienced emergency nurse as one can reflect and update their own knowledge and skill. I thoroughly enjoyed completing the TNCC again and I continue to highly recommend it.

Corinne Millard, Blue Mountains Hospital.

Good morning,
Once again thank you for a great Weekend. Though I might share a little extract from an article I have put up for local newspaper publication and our Area Health newsletter...

Nursing staff from Bega, Pambula, Moruya, Batemans Bay and Milton hospitals gathered at the University of Wollongong Bega Campus to participate in  the Australian College of Emergency Nursing (ACEN) - Trauma nursing Core Course (TNCC) . The two day course provided an opportunity for nurses to increase their knowledge and psychomotor skills required in the delivery of best practice and professional nursing care of the Trauma Patient.  Participants are to be congratulated on a job well done! A big thank you to ACEN lecturers Anne , Linda and Valma , coordinator of the weekend Clinical Nurse Educator Wendy Grealy to UOW for the use of their wonderful facilities and to the GSAHS Nurse Strategy Funding Body for their financial support.

Wendy Grealy, Acting Senior Nurse Manager, Pambula Hospital, Pambula.

I was delighted to hear that I had been accepted to attend the Trauma Nursing Core Course conducted at Nepean Hospital in May of this year. Many of my emergency colleagues that I have worked with over the years have completed this highly esteemed course, and have thoroughly recommended to me that it is definitely one that I should do.

"Whilst I proudly display a certificate of accomplishment, and it looks good in my CV, the people who truly benefit from this course are the patients with whom I use this knowledge."

On the other hand, each of these people has also commented with a bewildered look on their face how ‘full-on’ the course is, and that I should be prepared for a big weekend.

I mostly have a perioperative background, and have only been working in an emergency nursing capacity for 5 years. Even in this time however my role in emergency nursing has been mainly as a primary care nurse in a small rural NSW hospital (Trundle). This type of nursing has been wonderful, as the level of assessment, diagnostic thinking, and implementation of therapeutic procedures is very demanding of the isolated ED nurse. This isolation and level of autonomy un-nerves some nurses, and quite understandably so. But I thrived on it. I have learnt so much about primary/emergency care in the last five years. So much so that I have just become authorised this year as a Nurse Practitioner.

As there are very few to no positions available for Nurse Practitioners, I decided earlier on this year that despite the wonderful experience and knowledge that I have gained in emergency nursing, I still lacked the experience that only a bigger hospital could provide. Therefore I am now working in a permanent fulltime position as a registered nurse in the ED at The Maitland Hospital. This is quite interesting; the presentations are far more plentiful, and I am learning quite a lot about the more sophisticated medications, procedures and equipment that I have never had to use, however the skill and experience that I have in autonomous patient care is going mostly unused. I am happy though learning these new aspects of emergency nursing, which will only benefit my abilities in the future. So for the time being I will continue as is.

As I mentioned, I was expecting a big weekend, with all of the horror stories about the TNCC fresh in my mind. The pre-reading despite being extensive was easier to read and grasp than I thought. So I went into the course fairly well prepared. The lecturers were excellent. They were concise, fair and yet uncompromising, but most importantly they believed in what they were teaching. One knew that if they were to pass then they would have earned it; the TNCC is no ‘gimme’.

Now I am using these skills in the real situation. Whilst I proudly display a certificate of accomplishment, and it looks good in my CV, the people who truly benefit from this course are the patients with whom I use this knowledge. I would recommend this course to all ED nurses.

Jason Maher RN. M.Nurs (Nurse Prac).

The Wesley Centre in Queensland hosted the TNCC program in July this year. Twenty participants from across the southern part of Queensland undertook the program with a little trepidation but a great degree of excitement. Some of the comments from the students included:

1. Instructors so encouraging, human and humorous - helped me relax and cope with the stress.
2. I am absolutely saturated
3. Lecturers were absolutely wonderful in every way - reassuring, informative, clear in their communication,
4. Non intimidating, encouraging, patient and appropriately light hearted when needed.
5. Feel overladed, but learnt some valuable information
6. Use of mnemonics very helpful
7. Excellent course
8. Great lectures, fast, informative with the necessary information
9. Great added life experience stories that reinforce the information given
10. Lectures fun / teacher great

The instructors Liz Cloughessy, Cate Salter and Vicki Martin were very impressed with the level of preparation and participation showed by all the participants who achieved a 100% success rate.

Thank you to Kay Ahern from PA and Andrea Nagle from the Wesley for being fantastic course coordinator.

I would like to thank all the facilitators that were involved in the CATN II course held in Cairns this month.

The consensus from the participants I have since spoken with, were that not only was the content was very thorough, but all so the depth of understanding and the facilitators ability to aid comprehension was excellent. Returning to the basis of cellular level and then building on the interrelationship of all systems was invaluable for patient assessment and care in not only the emergency setting but for all patients.

I highly recommend this course for those who would appreciate the complexities of the human body broken down into simplistic process to be utilised by all in the clinical setting

Thank you again,
Frances Winterburn, Acting Nurse Educator(Emergency),
Cairns Base Hospital, CHHSD.

Just wanted to say a huge Thanks to yourself, Glenda, Rob and Anne for running the CATN course in Nambour last weekend!. I learnt heaps and am now actively trying to apply the concepts that I learnt to my nursing practice.

I was pretty gobsmacked when I successfully completed the course!, so I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my appreciation! See you later on in the year at ENPC.

Thanks again!, Belinda Hacon.

TRAUMA COURSE A HIT!!!

On the 12th and 13th of February Portland District Health hosted the first ever Basic Trauma Life Support (B.T.L.S.) Course to be held in regional Australia. A group of 15 nursing staff members and 1 General Practitioner attended the intensive 2 day course, which covered a range of life saving techniques and practices in trauma care.

"Those completing the course have been brought closer together, and have recounted many of the techniques learnt to others on shift."

Twenty two hours of course material, including a three hour exam component, comprised the weekend course, with almost 90% of those undertaking the course passing and being accredited as BTLS providers.

Although a highly intensive and sometimes stressful weekend, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. A general feeling of camaraderie was felt amongst those completing the course and team work consolidation was immeasurable. Our usual humor was appreciated and encouraged! (Who have thought that spinal packing could be so much fun!!) Those completing the course have been brought closer together, and have recounted many of the techniques learnt to others on shift. We would highly recommend this course to rural and remote are nurses.

The course instructors provided a fun, yet highly informative and motivating approach to education. Their tales of personal experience provide a realistic and refreshing account of trauma care. The obvious skill in the practical skill stations enabled an easy transfer of knowledge, allaying any fears that course participants may have had. The relaxed approach of the instructors made a serious and somewhat daunting course enjoyable.

Portland is a coastal rural community in the South West of Victoria, with a population catchment of 15-20,000, seasonally variant. The community has a high degree of major industry and farming areas, providing a high proportion of trauma per capita. Travel time is 4 hours by road to a major trauma centre, and air ambulance retrievals are often a five hour wait. Our Emergency Department has 2-3 staff per day/evening shift, utilising need to be kept up to date, to enable a high level of patient care.

And finally, a huge thanks to Rural Ambulance Victoria, for their ongoing support and supply of equipment, to enable the running of the course.

The above Course was held in the Education Centre of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital on 23rd and 24th August 2008.

A Course textbook was sent to all participants several weeks before these dates, in order to become familiar with the knowledge requirements of the Course.

Day 1 commenced at 0730 hours and covered initial assessment, triage, respiratory distress and failure, shock and trauma before breaking for lunch. The afternoon continued with rhythm disturbances and then moved into practical demonstrations in managing ill or injured children. Following the demonstrations, participants engaged in practice at the skill stations for the rest of the afternoon. During this time the providers supported, instructed and assisted in refining the individual’s skills.

Day 2 commenced at 0700 hours and included special needs children, mistreatment, neonates, childhood illness, and medical emergencies peculiar to children, i.e. poisoning, psychiatric emergencies & crisis intervention, stabilisation and transport.  Following lunch, testing took place in the form of a multi-choice paper, a triage viva and practical scenarios of assessment and management.

The two days were extremely well-run, with all lecturers keeping to time, speaking clearly and very knowledgeably.  Their teaching resources were interesting, relevant and certainly helped to reinforce learning.  The practical components were hard work and demanding, yet fun and interactive.  All aspects of the teaching linked closely with the text provided, and this is a valuable resource for later reference.

My reason for attending this ENPC was to update and equip me with knowledge, confidence and skills needed for my job.  I gained significantly from participating in this programme and gained a very good mark.  I would thoroughly recommend the Course for those who work in areas where a sick child may present.

I was supported to attend the ENPC by my CNM, Janet How who granted me study leave, and the Health Services Professional Development Fund and the Professional Development Assistance Fund both of whom kindly provided funding for the Course fee.  I would like to thank all parties and am most appreciative of this support.

Jackie Rapley, RN, Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Intensive Care & High Dependency Units.

Hi Liz,
I am emailing you as I participated incthe ENPC Workshop in Roma last month on the 21st and 22nd of June and I left the workshop without filling in my evaluation form as I was a bit side tracked with the assessment side of the course. I did not want to miss the opportunity to say what a fantastic weekend it was and Jenny, Rebecca and Janet were absolutely fabulous educators and did a great job.

I found the course extremely beneficial and have learnt lots of valuable information and have retained it so far which is a record for me.

So this is my evaluation to say thank you to the ladies for giving us the opportunity to learn such valuable information and I have already recommended it to many others. Thank you to the Australian College of Emergency Nursing for providing this course and such great educators, I look forward to attending again in the future.

Kathleen Montgomery, Mungindi Hospital.

I work as an RN in the Alice Springs Emergency Department, which services the whole population of central Australia (pop. 39,559) and covers an area of 1,605,680 sq. kms. Being located over 1500kms from the nearest city, it provides all aspects of emergency care including paediatrics.

Not being a specialized paediatric RN, means that personally I find nothing more challenging while at work than caring for the critically sick or injured child and their families. Therefore, to endeavour to improve my knowledge, skills and confidence in delivering best practice emergency paediatric care, I attended the ENPC, in Alice Springs, in May 2008.

"It was a very full-on two days, during which I learnt so much and felt a great sense of personal achievement at the end once I had successfully completed the course. The course facilitators were knowledgeable, approachable, supportive and great lecturers."

About a month prior to the course I received the provider manual which upon reading I found to be easy to understand and well set out. It provided me with an excellent basis which the lectures expanded on, and prepared me for the assessments I was to undertake during the course.

The lectures themselves were fast, informative and extremely well-delivered by the three ENPC instructors, who evidently brought with them a whole wealth of experienced emergency paediatric practice and knowledge.

The whole course is based upon a systemized approach to delivering emergency care. I found using the A-I mnemonic for assessment and treatment and the mnemonic CIAMPEDS for triage helped me to insure I included all the critical aspects of care both in my ENPC assessments and after the course in my nursing practice.

The assessments comprised of a multiple choice question paper, a management of the sick or critically injured paediatric patient skill station and a triage skill station. I have to own up to being very nervous prior to taking the assessments which took place at the end of the course on the second afternoon, but now I am convinced that the attack of pre-exam nerves was well worth it, as I have gained so much more knowledge, skill and confidence in looking after paediatric patients and their families.

It was a very full-on two days, during which I learnt so much and felt a great sense of personal achievement at the end once I had successfully completed the course. The course facilitators were knowledgeable, approachable, supportive and great lecturers.

There were RN’s from Emergency, Paediatrics, ICU and the RFDS on the course I attended. I highly recommend the ENPC to any nurse who performs any degree of emergency paediatric care during their practice.

By Avril Cooper RN (Alice Springs Hospital).