Advanced Certificate Program in Critical Care, a collaborative distance education program offered by the School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH) and Apollo MedSkills Pvt Limited (AMSL), was inaugurated by Prof. B. J. Rao, Vice-Chancellor, UoH on 17 August, 2021. This programme will be offered through the Center for Distance and Virtual Learning (CDVL) of the University. Prof. P Prakash Babu, Dean, School of Medical Sciences; Dr. M Varalakshmi, Programme Coordinator, School of Medical Sciences; Dr. P Srinivasa Rao, CEO, Apollo MedSkills Pvt. Ltd.; Dr. S Jeelani, Director, CDVL, UoH, and other officials from UoH and AMSL participated.

Inaugurating the programme and addressing the participants virtually, Prof. B. J. Rao said, “Critical care is an area of saving lives. It is a noble service and consists of blended training. UoH is imparting skills to people in society”. “An interesting journey has begun for the participants of this program. This programme, in fact, is in tune with the National Education Policy 2020. India is rich in talent and the cost-effectiveness of critical treatments will enable it to be a global player”, he added.

Critical care is of global demand due to increasing longevity, multimorbidities, and unprecedented health challenges. The ability of any health system to scale-up delivery of effective critical care services will be limited by critical care training capacity. Current pandemic has unearthed the shortage of critical care workforce worldwide, highlighting the dire need of qualified, competent health-care professionals with critical care skills.

In view of the global need for efficient critical care and management in intensive care units, the current Six-Month Advanced Certificate Program in Critical Care is developed to upskill the health professional graduates (Nursing, Medical,) and graduates from allied health sciences on critical care concepts and competencies to prepare them delivering safe and quality health care.

The program includes three courses- each course with theory and practical elements. The program is spread over one semester, i.e. for 24 weeks (or Six Months), the program delivery will be in blended mode with self-learning material, online live interactive sessions by expert faculty, and clinical training by experienced clinical experts.

50 participants are registered for this first course from 15 States across the country, including graduates, post-graduates in Nursing, Medicine, Homeopathic Medicine, BAMS, BDS, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, Life Sciences and Microbiology etc. selected through a thorough screening process.

Course Coordinators:              UoH:   Dr. M. Varalakshmi & Prof. P. Prakash Babu.

AMSL:  Dr.P. Srinivasa Rao & Mrs. V. Nagalakshmi.