The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ("the College") is offering free access to a range of online resources for doctors and other healthcare workers treating critically ill COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application is an online education hub, which the College has developed in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. The resource will help equip clinical staff and healthcare providers with the tools to combat COVID-19 and save lives.

This free resource is designed for NHS staff and front line healthcare providers both in the UK and across the world, some of whom may be treating critically ill patients for the first time. It is also available, for free, to clinicians who are caring for the critically ill after time away from the frontline – recognising their commitment to saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resource hub is hosted on social learning platform FutureLearn, and it provides access to professional knowledge and expertise covering routine critical care activities, as well as COVID-19 specific education. It also provides practical tools for self-care and staff wellbeing.

Participants on the online courses will learn how to apply ventilation and organ support principles to the care of a critically ill COVID-19 patient, requirements in personal protective equipment (PPE), and how to take care of their own health and wellbeing in a high-stress, high-risk environment.

Professor Andrew Elder, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:

COVID-19 is the challenge of a lifetime for many healthcare workers around the world, and there has never been a more important time for collaborative efforts in medical education and training to help equip critical care clinicians with the tools they need to fight the virus.

The College is very pleased, therefore, to partner with the University of Edinburgh to create a range of online educational resources. COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application, which we have chosen to give free access to, underlines the College’s commitment to the ongoing education of doctors in the UK and around the world.

Notes: 

1. COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application can be found at FutureLearn.