48-Hours of Intensive Instruction Helps Clinical Team Members Sharpen Skills
Five Carthage Area Hospital nurses recently completed an intense six-day professional development course to help practicing Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses improve a wide range of critical care nursing skills.
The Critical Care Course is a comprehensive learning experience for nurses who work with acutely or critically ill patients. Nurses who successfully complete the 48-hour course are equipped with essential knowledge and skills in the critical care discipline to ensure the delivery of safe, holistic and quality care to patients. Instruction features the latest evidence-based nursing knowledge and best practices.
Four members of Carthage Hospital’s Acute Inpatient Unit and one member of the Emergency Department clinical team completed the course on May 24. Rome Memorial Hospital Critical Care Educator Richard D. Simpson, RN, CCRN, presented the course at Carthage Area Hospital. Simpson has nearly 40 years of experience as a vascular access and critical care nurse. Jesica L. Nichols, RN, BS, Carthage Hospital nursing education coordinator, provided instructional support.
Course curricula included in-depth instruction on cardiac, circulatory and coronary care medicine. Nurses received instruction and training in electrocardiography interpretation, cardiac rhythms, cardiopulmonary emergencies, cardiovascular pharmacology, general coronary care and cardiac teaching, sepsis, septic shock, and hemodynamic instability.
Completing the course from the hospital’s Acute Inpatient Unit was: Robin Curtis, RN; Lorena Pallotta, LPN; Patricia MacKiewicz, RN; and Jennifer Myers, LPN. Completing the course from the hospital’s Emergency Department clinical team was Frank Sorbero, RN.
“We are very proud of our nursing team members who chose to enrich their clinical skills and challenge themselves in a very demanding course,” said Steven A. Olson, RN, MSN, MHA, Carthage Area Hospital director of nursing and administrator of patient care services. “Our patients benefit the most when we have nurses who are well trained and focused on delivering the best care possible.”
About Carthage Area Hospital
Carthage Area Hospital was established as a not-for-profit rural community hospital in 1965. It operates today as a fully accredited 25-bed Critical Access Hospital, serving approximately 83,000 residents in Jefferson, northern Lewis and southern St. Lawrence counties. The hospital formed a clinical affiliation with Crouse Health, Syracuse, in 2017.
The hospital also operates a network of community-based clinics, including its Philadelphia Medical Center, Family Health Center, Pediatric Clinic and Women’s Way to Wellness and provides a range of specialty care, including general surgery, orthopedics, podiatry, urology, neurosurgical care, physical and occupational therapy, and behavioral health.