Critical Care Transport – Post-licensure Certificate

Application deadlines

We are a rolling admissions program. We accept applications year-round and process them as they are completed. Students are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.<

We encourage you to apply in advance of the time that you’d like to start classes: fall (session 1) or spring (session 4). See Spalding’s academic calendar.

Admission requirements

To enroll in Spalding’s Critical Care Transport certificate program, you must be a current licensed registered nurse or paramedic.

In addition to the online application, you must submit:

• Official academic transcripts
• Evidence of a current license in your profession (i.e. nursing, paramedics, etc.)
• Résumé

You will upload these items directly through your applicant portal. 

Start Dates

Our program has two start dates per year: August (session 1) and January (session 4). See Spalding’s academic calendar.

We offer affordable online tuition at $440 per credit hour for the ’20-’21 academic year and $450 for the ’21-’22 academic year.

As a student in the Critical Care Transport certificate program, you can expect to pay the following estimated costs:

Tuition: $5,280 (12 total credit hours)
Textbooks: $200
Certification examination fee: $125-$350

Our experienced faculty are academic leaders and healthcare professionals. Many of them are also certified critical care transport professionals with experience as FlightBridgeEd educators. They are skilled at providing current, evidence-informed instruction to help you pass your advanced certification and become a skilled and successful clinician.

Course Delivery

Our course is delivered entirely online. You will need to have access to a computer and reliable high-speed Internet.

Course Sequence

We require four online courses to complete the program: one 12-week course and three six-week courses. The Advanced Concepts course must be taken first, and the other three courses can be taken in any order. See our courses and descriptions.

You will take these classes in one semester over sessions 1, 2 & 3 or sessions 4, 5 & 6.

Advanced Concepts of Critical Care Transport (3 credit hrs.)

The Advanced Concepts of Critical Care Transport course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge necessary to transport critically ill and injured patients.  The course content includes concepts outlined by both the International Board of Specialty Certifications (IBSC) as well as the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN).  This online course will be an exploration of principles related to critical care transport, safety, resuscitation (including airway), trauma and burns, medical emergencies (including pharmacology) and special populations.  This course is supported by current, evidence-based medical facts which allows for a multi-purpose application, i.e. certification in an advanced specialty, new and current knowledge acquisition, etc.

Pre-hospital & Critical Care Transport on Ventilator Management (3 credit hrs.)

Course Description:  The Pre-Hospital and Critical Care Transport Perspectives on Ventilator Management course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge necessary to care for their critically ill and injured patients.  This online course will be comprehensive review of all things related to critical care transport ventilation.  Core principles such as respiratory physiology, ventilator terminology, basic modes of ventilation, advanced modes, ventilator strategies, alarms and pain and sedation will be explored.  These concepts are supported by current research, historical theory and case studies allowing the student to both optimize and maximize their knowledge related to mechanical ventilation.

Leadership in Health Sciences (3 credit hrs.)

This course promotes the development of scholarship skills and use of research knowledge for practice in the health sciences. Students will articulate the importance of how scholarly activities contribute to the development of health science knowledge and applies to evidence-based health care practice. It includes a review of descriptive and inferential statistics as used in developing/using evaluation instruments and research designs. The analysis and critique of both qualitative and quantitative research methods and search of the literature to evaluate the quality of the evidence will occur. Competence in critiquing the validity of research studies, including designs and methodologies is a major learning outcome of the course.

Research in Health Sciences (3 credit hrs.)

This course provides skill building in leadership and management development practices in healthcare. Students will assess his or her own emotional intelligence and personal strengths in order to develop skills in operational management, and leadership skills necessary to achieve individual and healthcare organizational objectives.