The Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) has developed an online course Core Critical Care Nursing This short course has been designed for nurses as a rapid introduction to Critical Care.

  • The course is free.
  • Participants must register to access the course.
  • Participants will need to know their AHPRA Registration number to access the modules.
  • Once the participant has registered and completed the modules they will receive a certificate for their Professional Development records.

Course units

Chapter 1 - Basic Nursing Care

  • Nursing Care of the Mechanically Ventilated Patient
  • Top 10 Tips to Recognise and Respond to Patient Deterioration
  • Nursing Management of Critically Ill Patients with a Central Venous Catheter

Chapter 2 – Mechanical Ventilation

  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • CPAP and PEEP
  • Proning
  • Common Drugs Used in Sedation Protocols in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

Chapter 3 – Cardiovascular

  • Introduction to ECG Rhythm Interpretation
  • The Basics of Arterial Lines

Additional modules are also being developed and will be updated when available.

Online education in critical care for registered nurses

The Commonwealth Government has launched new online education to enable registered nurses to assist in the delivery of care in intensive care and high dependency units.

Some course content is available now, with all content to be available from 9 April 2020.

For more information visit MedCast - SURGE Critical Care

The Australian College of Nursing - 'Online Refresher Program for Registered Nurses'

  • The ACN has developed an online course to refresh your knowledge in acute care nursing which is ideal for nurses working in non-acute areas of practice.
  • See the ACN website for more details
  • The course costs $1100 and will account for 36 CPD hours

More information

Contact: Matthew Lutze
Principal Advisor -  Nursing Practice and Informatics
Nursing & Midwifery Office, NSW Ministry of Health
Phone: (02) 9461 7213, Email: Matthew.Lutze@health.nsw.gov.au​​​

Current as at: Thursday 29 July 2021
Contact page owner: Nursing and Midwifery