Education pathway

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The following resources support NSW Health nurses' safe and confident transition to using the Emergency care assessment and treatment (ECAT) protocols.

These were developed by the Health Education and Training Institute (HETI), in partnership with the ACI and experienced emergency nurses.

The Emergency Nurse Capability Framework

The framework:

  • supports the professional development of nurses in the specialty field of emergency healthcare
  • enables the development of an emergency nursing education pathway
  • can be used to standardise education and training, enabling nurses to work to their full scope of practice and facilitates the transfer of skills across NSW Health.

View the framework on the HETI website

Education and recognition of prior learning (RPL)

The NSW Health ECAT Education and RPL Guide supports the transition of the existing nursing workforce to use the ECAT protocols by outlining the knowledge, skills and training that is required to use the ECAT protocols and recognising and documenting prior learning.

View the guide on the HETI website

Education requirements to support ECAT

The following diagram provides a high level overview of the education requirements to use the ECAT protocols.

The ECAT protocols include unshaded, pink shaded/diamond and blue shaded/triangle portions to indicate where different levels of knowledge, training and skills are required to initiate interventions and investigations.

Always read the NSW Health Policy Directive The Use of Emergency Care and Treatment (ECAT) Protocols (PD2024_011) in conjunction with the ECAT Education and RPL guide.

This diagram outlines education requirements to support ECAT protcols. There are two ECAT courses developed by HETI: ECAT Nursing in Emergency Care Settings and ECAT Introduction to Protocols. On completion of these two courses, nurses can complete unshaded sections of protocols. Nurses who have completed the Transition to Specialty Emergency Practice Program can complete pink shaded diamond sections of the protocols. Additional skills and knowledge are blue shaded triangle sections on the protocols. These additional skills include: suturing and wound closure, nurse initiated x-ray, nitrous oxide and advanced life support.

Download the diagram (PDF 177.7 KB)

Prior to using the ECAT protocols, registered and enrolled nurses must complete the required education as outlined in the ECAT Education and RPL Guide.

This includes the following two modules:

Nursing in Emergency Care Settings

Course code: 493013476

  • Introduction to emergency nursing (including cognitive bias and situational awareness)
  • Building the full clinical picture (including red flags)
  • Providing care to patients in emergency care settings
  • Communication in the emergency care environment

View Nursing in Emergency Care Settings on My Health Learning

ECAT – Introduction to Protocols

Course code: 493029240

  • Safety and governance principles in the context of ECAT
  • Practicing safe, appropriate, and responsive quality nursing (scope of practice)
  • ECAT protocol structure
  • Using the ECAT protocols (identify ECAT protocol, initiate care, re-assess, progress)
  • Clinical reasoning and decision making in the context of ECAT (cognitive bias and situational awareness)
  • Communicating when using the ECAT protocols

View ECAT – Introduction to Protocols on My Health Learning

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