edX and Harvard Create Free Online Course on Ventilator Use to Address Urgent Need During COVID-19 Pandemic Designed for front-line medical professionals that require training to operate the mechanical ventilators needed to treat COVID-19 patients edX and Harvard are launching a free online course on ventilator use that addresses an urgent need for medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the number of patients requiring critical care continues to grow, medical professionals who do not normally work in an ICU setting are being reassigned to the ICU. This course was created for these medical professionals to provide the preparation they need to treat COVID-19 patients. The course was developed in collaboration with the American Association for Respiratory Care, Dr. Susan Wilcox and Thomas Piraino. Wilcox is the Division Chief, Critical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston leading the team addressing the influx of COVID-19 patients, and Piraino is the Clinical Specialist for Mechanical Ventilation for the Centre of Excellence in Mechanical Ventilation at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Wilcox and Piraino wanted to create a resource that would help not only their teams but teams across the globe who are experiencing the same urgent challenge. While the global shortage of ventilators remains a major issue, proper training is another challenge that hospitals will face, and this course aims to address that need.
Bringing together Wilcox and Piraino’s experience with edX and Harvard’s expertise in delivering high-quality online courses that deliver practical knowledge that can be applied immediately, this course was rapidly developed and made available for medical professionals anywhere.
The course is available for free on edX.org.
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“edX is proud to do our part to help address this situation in the best way we know how. We are leveraging the power of online learning to quickly create a resource that addresses an urgent need across the globe. The edX platform allows thousands of front-line medical professionals to access this critical information quickly, regardless of location.” - Anant Agarwal, edX Founder and CEO.
“We are deeply fortunate to be located in a city that has a unique depth and breadth in academia and healthcare. That one of our experts, Dr. Susan Wilcox, leapt into action during the biggest public health crisis in a century to bring a course on the use of mechanical ventilators to medical professionals worldwide is testament not only to the skill but also to the commitment and dedication of Boston’s best.” - Bharat Anand, PhD, Vice Provost for Advances in Learning, Harvard University
“Working on the front lines of this pandemic at Massachusetts General Hospital, I see everyday how critical it is for all medical professionals to be trained in the use of a mechanical ventilator. I’m hopeful that this succinct course will provide my colleagues around the world with the essential information they need to make an impact immediately.” - Dr. Susan Wilcox, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chief, Division of Critical Care, Department of Emergency Medicine (MGH); Staff Intensivist, Heart Center ICU (MGH)
“As the entire global medical community works together to combat this pandemic, I’m proud to work with Dr. Wilcox to create this course that is universally helpful to all medical professionals in this situation. This effort is one of many examples of the type of community collaboration that will be required to combat the spread of COVID-19.” - Thomas Piraino, Clinical Specialist, Mechanical Ventilation for the Centre of Excellence in Mechanical Ventilation at St. Michael’s Hospital; Lecturer (Adjunct), Department of Anesthesia, Division of Critical Care at McMaster University.
