Intensive Care Education

Peninsula Health’s Intensive Care Unit is a dedicated education and training centre focused on enhancing workforce development and improving patient safety. Through innovative simulation-based courses, we provide transformative learning experiences that empower healthcare professionals to deliver the highest standard of critical care. 

Our Courses

ALS 2 (Advanced Life Support 2) 

ALS2 is a two-day Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) affiliated course. 

This two-day internationally accredited course standardises the teaching of cardiac arrest and resuscitation management. The ALS2 course consists of lectures, practical workshops and cardiac arrest scenarios. 

Course Dates

Feb 26/27, 2025 

May 28/29, 2025 

Register for the next ALS2 course

Contact Us: Email icucourses@phcn.vic.gov.au 

BASIC (Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care)

BASIC is a two-day interactive course designed to assist junior ICU doctors. 

The two-day course includes clinically focused lectures, skill stations, interactive tutorials, and e-learning modules. Topics covered include managing critically ill patients, basic and advanced ventilation strategies, airway management, sepsis, hemodynamic monitoring, trauma care, renal and electrolyte disturbances, and sedation. 

Course Dates  

Feb 3-4, 2025 

May 5-6, 2025 

Aug 4-5, 2025 

Nov 10-11, 2025 

Register for the next BASIC Course here

Contact Us: Email icucouses@phcn.vic.gov.au  

Beyond Basic: Mechanical Ventilation 

This is a two-day course, designed for intermediate-senior level Intensive Care Trainees which aims to teach practical aspects of mechanical ventilation for critically ill patients. 

What topics are covered

  • Applied respiratory physiology 
  • Acute respiratory failure 
  • Heart lung interactions 
  • Advanced airway management 
  • Humidification 
  • Mechanical ventilation basics 
  • Assist-control modes 
  • SIMV and assist modes 
  • Other modes: ASV, NAVA, bilevel, APRV 
  • Settings 
  • Sedation and neuromuscular blockade 
  • Troubleshooting (including management of dyssynchrony) 
  • Ventilator associated pneumonia 
  • NIV 
  • Weaning 
  • Respiratory monitoring (including ventilator waveforms) 
  • Ventilatory aspects of ARDS 
  • Ventilatory aspects of unilateral lung disease 
  • Ventilatory aspects of obstructive airways disease 

Course Dates

Date TBD 

Contact Us: Email icucouses@phcn.vic.gov.au 

Register for the next BASIC Course

Focused Cardiac Ultrasound TTE 

The Focused Cardiac Ultrasound Transthoracic Echocardiography (FCU TTE) Course offers a comprehensive knowledge base through learning practical skills in transthoracic echocardiography to complement clinical evaluation. 

Part of the course includes 2 x 1.5hr hands-on clinical training sessions with maximum participant ratios of 1:4.  

Learning Outcomes 

  1. Acquire the TTE views 
  1. Understand haemodynamic State Assessment 
  1. Perform limited valve assessment using 2D and colour flow Doppler 
  1. Putting it all together – doing a iHeartScan 
  1. Writing an iHeartScan report 
  1. Practical experience in performing and reporting an iHeartScan on simulated patients 

** This course is accredited to meet the CICM Focused Cardiac Ultrasound training requirement** 

Course Dates  

Online content available to commence year-round 

In-person training dates:  

11-14 March, 2025 

19-23 May, 2025 

28 July -1 Aug, 2025 

6 – 10 Oct, 2025 

Contact Us: Email icucouses@phcn.vic.gov.au 

Register for the next FCU TTE Course here

Advanced Cardiac Ultrasound TTE 

In this course, participants will advance their point of care transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) skills to include quantification of valvular and ventricular function and estimation of pulmonary hypertension. 

Learning Outcomes 

  1. Learn to interpret real and simulated TTE images and obtain simulated TTE images 
  1. Quantification and classification of valvular dysfunction (colour, pressure gradient, valve area) 
  1. Quantification and classification of right and left ventricular dysfunction (TAPSE, Simpson’s ejection fraction) 
  1. Estimation of pulmonary artery systolic pressure 

Contact Us: Email icucouses@phcn.vic.gov.au 

Register for the next FCU TTE Advanced Course

Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Venous Access 

After completing this course, you will be able to perform ultrasound guided peripheral venous cannulation, increasing the success rate of IV cannulation as well as reducing the time taken. 

Learning Outcomes 

  1. Use ultrasound to discriminate arteries and veins 
  1. Use ultrasound to identify the best vein to cannulate 
  1. Use ultrasound to successfully guide a cannula into the vein 
  1. Use ultrasound to correct cannula misfeed 

Contact Us: Email icucouses@phcn.vic.gov.au 

Course Dates:  

Available year-round (online content)  

Register for the next USS Access Course here

caret-downcloseexpandfacebook-squarehamburgerinstagram-squarelinkedin-squarepauseplaytwitter-square