Education

Critical Care Nurse Education

The West Yorkshire & South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw Critical Care Education, Training & Development Strategy has now been published. The objective of the strategy is to drive and support equitable critical care education, quality improvement and the development of critical care staff to deliver safe, evidence based quality patient care.

Educational Standards & Competencies

There has been considerable work undertaken by the Critical Care Nurse Education Review Forum, a sub-group of CC3N, to develop both Standards for Critical Care Nurse Education and a Competency Framework which underpins it.

Adult Critical Care Clinical Nurse Educator Best Practice Guidelines 2024

National Critical Care Nursing Education standards Version 3 2023

Mentor Slides

The mentor slides have been by created by CCNERF to try and provide the need to know information before you start mentoring and assessing staff using the Step competencies.

Competency Framework Mentor / Assessor Guidance

National Step Competencies for Adult Critical Care Nurses

Step 1

Step 1 Competencies have been desiged to provide you with the core skills required to care for a critically ill patient safely, whilst under supervision. It is expected that Step 1 competencies will be completed prior to commencing an academic critical care programme

Step 4 (2025)

Step 4 competencies have been designed to provide you with the core skills required to take charge in a critical care unit; building management and leadership capability into your professional development, to demonstrate safe and effective coordination and prioritisation of unit workload, workforce and resources. You are advised to keep a record of any supportive evidence and reflective practice to assist you during progress and assessment reviews and to inform your NMC revalidation.

Neurological Specialist Competencies

These competencies are intended to be used in addition to the Critical Care
Network’s (CC3N) Step Competencies for nurses working in a critical care environment which provides care for patients with neurological injury or post neurological surgery. The CC3N Step One Competencies should be completed first as a pre-requisite with Specialist Neurological Competencies following these either before or after CC3N Step Two and Step Three competencies according to unit requirements.

Liver Specialist Competencies

The aim of this document is to provide comprehensive addition to the National
Competency Framework to cover those working in Specialist Liver Centres.
It is anticipated that these competencies will form the next steps in your development and provide you with the knowledge and skills to:
• support the specialist nursing care required by the liver patient
• understand the different needs of the liver injured patient
• understand the importance of involving other specialities and the team contribution to liver care
• refer to or work alongside appropriate regional services for ongoing care

Health Care Support Worker (Supportive)

The Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) Critical Care Supportive Level (Band 2) competencies have been designed to provide you with the core generic skills required to safely and professionally assist in the care of the critically ill patient in a general critical care unit, under the supervision of a registered nurse.
It is anticipated that HCSW Critical Care core competencies will form the first part of your development in Critical Care

Step 2

Step 2 Competencies have been designed to further develop your essential critical care skills and will require enhanced theoretical knowledge to underpin your practice. It is anticipated that Step 2 competencies will be undertaken whilst undertaking an academic critical care programme.

Level 1 Competencies

NOrF and the Critical Care Network National Leads (CC3N) have gathered a wide group of key stakeholders to develop a practice focused competency framework for registered nurses and allied health professionals (AHPs) who care for level 1 patients in enhanced care areas

Maternal
Competencies (2024)

These maternal competencies have been designed to provide you with
the core skills required to assess and manage a pre-partum, or postpartum
woman in a critical care unit. These competencies are designed to be used in conjunction with the National Competency Framework for Registered Nursing in Adult Critical Care (CC3N 2015) Step 2 & 3 documents. There is expectation that Step 1 competencies are completed before this specialist competency.

Cardiac Specialist Competencies

These competencies are designed to be used in Cardiac Critical Care in conjunction with the National Competency Framework for Adult Critical Care Nurses. The Cardiac Competencies can be completed in conjunction with the Step One, Two and Three of the National Competency Framework according to unit requirements. These competencies have been designed to provide you with the core skills required to care for critically ill patients with cardiac care needs.

Health Care Support Worker (Assistive)

The Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) Critical Care Assistive Level (Band 3) competencies have been designed to provide you with the generic skills required to safely and professionally assist in the care of the critically ill patient in a general critical care unit, under the supervision of a registered nurse.
It is anticipated that HCSW Critical Care Assistive proficiencies will augment your development in Critical Care.

It is expected that these would be completed following the completion of the supportive proficiencies and will be dependent on your previous knowledge and experience, your working hours, shift patterns and local service needs.

Step 3

Step 3 Competencies
have been designed to further develop the expert core skills required to safely and professionally care for the critically ill patient without any direction.Step 3 competencies will also be used to underpin academic critical care programmes of study.

Trauma Specialist Competencies

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Adult Critical Care Major Trauma competencies which are the product of working collaboratively with colleagues from the National Major Trauma Nursing Group (NMTNG) and CC3N supported by the National Major Trauma and Burns CRG.

Advanced Burns Specialist Competencies (2025)

These competencies supersede the previous two separate burns competencies. and are aimed at at nurses who look after burn injured patients on a regular basis. This competency document has been designed by the Operational Delivery
Networks for Burns with consultation from Clinical Lead Nurses for Burn Care across the UK. It is intended for use alongside the National Critical Care Nurses Competency package and is intended for use in areas that admit burn injured patients frequently.

Intermittent Haemodialysis Specialty
Competencies

This competency is intended for use alongside the National Critical Care Nurses Competency package in centres with and on-site renal services (defined as tier 1 or 2 centres in the ACC renal service specification). Robust governance and collaboration between local critical care and renal services is a mandatory prerequisite.
This document is designed for nurses who look after patients requiring Intermittent Haemodialysis (IHD) in adult critical care, when this is considered a viable alternative to conventional Continuous Veno-Venous Haemofiltration (CVVH).

Registered Nursing Associate
Competencies (2024)

These competencies have been designed to provide you with the core knowledge and skills required to care for critically ill patients safely and professionally in a general adult critical care unit under the supervision and with support of a registered nurse (RN).

They align to the CC3N Best Practice Guidelines for Registered Nursing Associates in Adult Critical Care Units (2024).

Critical Care Best Practice Educational Tools

Critical Care Best Practice Tools have been produced by the Service Improvement Lead Nurses from WYCCN, NoECCN and NY&HCCN. They cover subjects such as Eye Care, Oral Care, Pressure Area Prevention, Transfer, Arterial Line and CVAD Care, ETT & TT care.

Please feel free to use them as educational tools and resources in conjunction with your own units policies and guidelines.

Click on the image to the right to access all the resources.

Links to Higher Education Institutions