ECMO fellowship??

[criticalcarehero]

Hey guys,
Can someone become certified in ECMO after doing CCM fellowship?
For example, can we cannulate for ecmo?

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[CCM-MD]

I am exhausted with the number of fellowships and certifications we have to deal with we don’t need any more. IM, CCM, echo, now neurocrit, now ECMO? Seriously? I am getting tired of it. Do we need a mechanical ventilator fellowship? No. So same thing with ECMO.

Sorry for the rant.

Go to a CCM fellowship that’s ECMO heavy if it’s an interest. If you end up somewhere that doesn’t do much ECMO, do one of the various ELSO/SCCM courses and gain experience in practice. Cannulation is very institution dependent, often times it’s CT surgery but intensivists do cannulate some places. If you want to be the one cannulating you will have to work somewhere the intensivists do it - likely a high volume center.

 

[psychbender]

There is no ECMO certification, just credentialing at the local level. At my institution, intensivists that meet the requirements can be credentialed to manage the circuit, but only the CT surgeons are credentialed to cannulate. Technically, an intensivist or cardiologist that met the minimums could apply for the credential, but for us, it's not really needed, with how we set the process up. At another hospital where I interviewed, the CT surgeons wanted nothing to do with it, so cannulation and management are done by CCM or Cardiology.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

ECMO fellowship?

 

[Robotic Wis-Hipple]

ECMO fellowship?

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Seriously, why do folks look for ways to increase their call burden etc? Plus, ECMO begets more ECMO. If the surgeons want an ECMO program let them do the cannulations. A not insignificant number end up with femoral complications necessitating surgical exploration, distal perfusion cannulas, site change, weaning and decannulation trials, etc. Certainly for VA.

I guess I can see if you want VV credentials to save some acute decompensating pulm pt with an Avalon and you already have TEE creds. But anywhere I’ve been the “ECMO team” were primarily surgeons and perfusion (or ECMO RNs) managed the circuits.

Clearly I’m not as altruistic as you guys but I think it’s asking for more trouble than it’s worth. But I’m not CCM either so take it for what it’s worth.

 

[CCM-MD]

Seriously, why do folks look for ways to increase their call burden etc? Plus, ECMO begets more ECMO. If the surgeons want an ECMO program let them do the cannulations. A not insignificant number end up with femoral complications necessitating surgical exploration, distal perfusion cannulas, site change, weaning and decannulation trials, etc. Certainly for VA.

I guess I can see if you want VV credentials to save some acute decompensating pulm pt with an Avalon and you already have TEE creds. But anywhere I’ve been the “ECMO team” were primarily surgeons and perfusion (or ECMO RNs) managed the circuits.

Clearly I’m not as altruistic as you guys but I think it’s asking for more trouble than it’s worth. But I’m not CCM either so take it for what it’s worth.

Thats an odd set up. I've never heard of a center that doesn't have intensivists in their ECMO program.