Advanced Trauma Nursing Course ATNC Provider

This course is suitable for Registered Nurses working in trauma teams. However, to meet the educational needs of a changing workforce in trauma teams it is possible for health care professional from other groups (e.g. Paramedics and Operating Department Practitioners) to complete ATNC.

These professionals must have current registration with the Healthcare Professionals Council (HCPC) and be working as part of a hospital-based trauma team on a regular basis, with responsibilities for the ongoing care of the patient as part of the trauma call. These professionals need to be aware and accept that the ATNC curriculum will not be adapted from its core focus on training nurses to care for the seriously injured patient and their family.

Upon completion of the ATNC provider course the nurse will be able to:

• Understand the local Trauma Network system and the centralisation of trauma services
• Understand and apply the criteria for activation of the trauma team with respect to: - Physiological signs - Injuries sustained - Mechanism - Special circumstances
• Be able to discuss and apply local guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) e.g. Secondary Transfer and Bypass criteria
• Be aware of National guidance and standards, e.g. NICE (2016) Trauma Guidelines and be able to apply them
• Have knowledge, skills and attitude associated with the preparation and reception of a trauma patient
• Demonstrate the knowledge and competence to assess and manage a trauma patient using primary and secondary assessment principles including management of:

• Airway and restriction of C-Spine motion
• Breathing and ventilation
• Circulation and haemorrhage control
• Disability
• Exposure and temperature control

• Demonstrate the knowledge, skill and attitude in the assessment and management of pain
• Demonstrate the knowledge, skill and attitude in the assessment and management of patients in special circumstances, including

• Older patient
• Child and young patient
• Bariatric patient
• Pregnant patient
• Confused, agitated and aggressive patient
• Patients with communication difficulties

• Demonstrate knowledge, skill and attitude in the care of the dying patient and their family, and the facilitation of tissue and organ donation
• Demonstrate knowledge, skill and attitude to support and relieve psychological stress in trauma patients, their families/friends and staff
• Demonstrate knowledge, skill and attitude to be an effective trauma team member
• Demonstrate knowledge of legal, ethical and professional issues that influence the care of the trauma patient

Mandatory, pre-course learning

Before the course, you will be required to complete the ATLS^® pre-course e-learning consisting of an overview chapter, 13 modules and quizzes, pre and post module MCQs and it takes approximately 1-2 hrs to complete each module. Participants will also need to complete a pre-course ATNC MCQ to prepare them for the style of the examination that will be used to test knowledge at the end of the course. Full completion of the pre-course learning / MCQs is a mandatory requirement to attend the course. Participants who have not completed the e-learning in full by 7am the day before the course will not be allowed to participate in the course and will forfeit their course fee.

Course participants will receive access to the ATLS^® pre-course e-learning resources on the RCS Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) via a notification with log in details six weeks before the course at the latest.

Course participants are also required to read the ATNC and ATLS^® course manuals in full to prepare for the assessments on the course.

ATNC day

The one-day nursing component of ATNC precedes the ATLS^® course. This section focuses on the nursing responsibilities essential to acute trauma management. A variety of teaching and learning methods are used to explore these topics.

ATLS^® days

On the ATLS^® days, the nurses work in small groups with medical participants on the ATLS^® course. Unfolding scenarios are used to structure the learning, so that participants can apply their knowledge from the pre-course learning in clinical simulations. Interactive discussions are also used to cover the approaches to teamwork and managing trauma at the extremes of age.

Assessment

Continuous and end point assessments are used on the course. There are interactive sessions and clinical scenario stations and your performance of practical skills and contribution to discussions which test participants’ core knowledge will be assessed throughout these sessions.

The participant’s theoretical knowledge is tested using a Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) consisting of 40 questions, which has a pass mark of 80%. If you are unsuccessful on the course you can take a resit within three months of the course. You will not be given your answer sheet or told which questions you answered incorrectly. Reading the ATNC and ATLS^® manuals prior to the course is the best preparation for the MCQs - there are no lectures in the face to face component of the course; you must arrive with a high level of clinical knowledge.

On the final day, the participant must also be able to perform an assessment of the simulated trauma patient, using principles learned on the course. They will need to be able to identify key life-threatening problems, initiate appropriate management and ensure that no further harm comes to the patient within their scope of practice. If you are unsuccessful in your first attempt on the course you will be given the opportunity to repeat the moulage assessment on the course using a different scenario. If unsuccessful, at the course director’s discretion, you might be given a final resit on another course.

If you have not met the minimum standard to pass the course you will not be given the opportunity to re-sit failed sessions and you will have to successfully complete another provider course to gain ATNC provider status.