Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Education and Training: A Review of Current Practices and Future Directions at a Single Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
- 1Neonatology, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, USA.
- 2Pediatric Surgery, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, USA.
- 3Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, USA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to describe extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) training and education practices at our institution and participants' self-reported comfort with ECMO tasks before and after training sessions.Background
ECMO is a life-sustaining intervention for critically ill patients with cardiac and/or respiratory failure. ECMO circuit management is complex and requires specialized training. This study describes pediatric and neonatal ECMO education practices at Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH).Methods
We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected program-evaluation data. The education program ran from 2021 to 2025; anonymous pre- and post-training survey data were available only for 2024-2025. Registered nurses and ECMO primers completed surveys around 2024 water labs, and fellows completed surveys around boot camps in 2024 and 2025.Results
Survey response rates were 90% (27/30) for spring 2024 water labs and 83% (25/30) for fall 2024 water labs. Among registered nurses and ECMO primers, self-reported comfort was numerically higher after training for managing ECMO emergencies (52% to 74%), ambulating patients (56% to 74%), independently maintaining circuit components (60% to 84%), and escalating pump issues (84% to 96%); all 95% confidence intervals for differences included zero. Fellow item-level response counts varied. Between 2021 and 2025, 273 patients were cannulated onto ECMO at PCH.Conclusion
In this single-center descriptive evaluation, self-reported comfort was numerically higher after sessions, with imprecise estimates; findings are descriptive and hypothesis-generating. Neither competence nor patient outcomes were measured.
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BibTeX
@article{avades2026extracorporeal,
title = {{Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Education and Training: A Review of Current Practices and Future Directions at a Single Center in Phoenix, Arizona.}},
author = {Meriam Avades and Mark Molitor and Melissa Filipiak and Christina Salisbury and Mohammed Elkhwad},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.118381},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921273},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Education and Training: A Review of Current Practices and Future Directions at a Single Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
AU - Meriam Avades
AU - Mark Molitor
AU - Melissa Filipiak
AU - Christina Salisbury
AU - Mohammed Elkhwad
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.118381
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921273
AB - Purpose The purpose of the study is to describe extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) training and education practices at our institution and participants' self-reported comfort with ECMO tasks before and after training sessions.Background ECMO is a life-sustaining intervention for critically ill patients with cardiac and/or respiratory failure. ECMO circuit management is complex and requires specialized training. This study describes pediatric and neonatal ECMO education practices at Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH).Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected program-evaluation data. The education program ran from 2021 to 2025; anonymous pre- and post-training survey data were available only for 2024-2025. Registered nurses and ECMO primers completed surveys around 2024 water labs, and fellows completed surveys around boot camps in 2024 and 2025.Results Survey response rates were 90% (27/30) for spring 2024 water labs and 83% (25/30) for fall 2024 water labs. Among registered nurses and ECMO primers, self-reported comfort was numerically higher after training for managing ECMO emergencies (52% to 74%), ambulating patients (56% to 74%), independently maintaining circuit components (60% to 84%), and escalating pump issues (84% to 96%); all 95% confidence intervals for differences included zero. Fellow item-level response counts varied. Between 2021 and 2025, 273 patients were cannulated onto ECMO at PCH.Conclusion In this single-center descriptive evaluation, self-reported comfort was numerically higher after sessions, with imprecise estimates; findings are descriptive and hypothesis-generating. Neither competence nor patient outcomes were measured.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -