TNCC Certification

chare · Nov 9, 2016

I'm very curious to know where this is occurring. I have never heard of or flown a patient straight from a scene to an ICU. Does this ICU implement the American College of Surgeons trauma process? If so, what level are they? Is this a new process hospitals in your area are trying? That must cause some serious chaos with all the staff that is required.
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Nearly all of our interfacility trauma transfers, both adult and pediatric, are taken directly to the ICU. If the patient arrives from the scene, they are initially seen in the ED, but the goal is to get them out or the ED and to the OR or ICU as quickly as possible.

I am unsure as to the American College of Surgeons trauma processâ€ that you reference? If you mean trauma center designation, then yes, Level 1 adult and pediatric.

It's not very relevant to ICU practiceâ€¦

TNCC can be very relevant in the ICU. The TNCC trauma nursing process (TNP) follows the same format at the ATLS trauma assessment. Regardless of whether the patient arrives from the ED, or via the transport team as a result of an interfacility transport, application of the trauma nursing process can facilitate a smooth transfer of care. Also, we are required to complete 16 hours of trauma continuing education every two years and TNCC meets most of this requirement.

â€¦I'm assuming you are already ACLS certified because that is usually a basic requirement, so if you're looking for additional development you'd be much better off working toward your CCRN.

TNCC is a two day course, similar to ACLS. And similar to ACLS, upon completion the participant is awarded a course verification, not certification.

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I understand taking TNCC if you are a trauma ICU, but TNCC is starting to fall away. My system encourages ATCN instead, but we can get either one

I agree that ATCN is another good trauma course, but don't necessarily find it any better than TNCC, and there are still many states in which it is not available. At the time I was able to attend it had to be given concurrently with ATLS. If this is still true, I think this is what greatly limits its availability.

Wuzzie · Nov 9, 2016

Nearly all of our interfacility trauma transfers, both adult and pediatric, are taken directly to the ICU. If the patient arrives from the scene, they are initially seen in the ED, but the goal is to get them out or the ED and to the OR or ICU as quickly as possible.

Well that makes complete sense for inter-facility transfers because the initial stabilization (which is the gist of TNCC) should have been done by the sending hospital and that's the process I am familiar with. What I'm not familiar with is bypassing the ED entirely (as postulated by a previous poster) and taking a scene patient directly to the ICU. Having worked at both pediatric and adult level one centers we completed as much diagnostic evaluation as possible (X-ray, CT, Bedside US etc) prior to moving the patient to the unit/OR so that the receiving units could prepare for what they actually were receiving injury wise. Usually that meant going from the ED to the scanner then directly to the unit to save as much time as possible and so the unit didn't have to bring the patient back down for scans. I am unfamiliar with any hospitals in my area that do the initial stabilization in the ICU.

As far as TNCC I see value in it for the staff in all areas of trauma. Even if you don't do the initial stabilization it's always good to know what transpired prior to admission plus there is a lot of good additional information in it that impacts the care of the trauma patient along the continuum.

The American College of Surgeons is who sets the standards by which hospitals are categorized by level. They are the ones who do the site visits. Having been closely involved in a site visit I can tell you that they dictate just about everything including where each staff member is positioned around the gurney. It's as stressful as a Commission visit and just as much work.

1CAnursepain · Nov 9, 2016

To nurse3242, As I tell everyone who will listen, there is no education that is wasted. I was fortunate to get my TNCC paid for years ago. I work as a med/surg tele nurse, but there are occasions where I work in long term care. The next day after taking the class, a patient fell, there were no injuries, but I was able to assess the patient learning the techniques learned in the TNCC class. The doctor was very impressed. You will learn valuable information you will be able to take with you in any area of nursing that you persue, good luck!