Core Skills in Intensive Care Pharmacotherapy Course

Directors:

• Celine MONARD MD, MPH – Intensive Care Unit, Anesthesiology and Critical CareDepartment, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
• Bryan O’FARRELL MPharm MRPharmS MSc Critical Care, Lead Pharmacist – Intensive Care & Theatres, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.

• Outline key concepts in ICU clinical pharmacotherapy
• Demonstrate the processes for safe prescribing, administration, and monitoring of medicines in the ICU.
• Describe the principles of medicines optimization and how pharmacotherapy is tailored in response to dynamic changes in a critically ill patient.
• Compare different types of shock (e.g. hypovolaemic, cardiogenic, septic/distributive) and outline the options for clinical management.
• Present the basic pharmacology of inotropes and vasopressors and how these are use used to optimise cardiac perfomance, exploring the practical aspects of administration and monitoring.
• Discuss the management of acute kidney injury, compare the various modalities of renal replacement therapy and describe the implications for pharmacotherapy and drug dosing.
• Describe the pathophysiology of sepsis and its impact on multiple organ systems.
• Examine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antimicrobial agents and show how this knowledge is used to optimize their selection, dosing, and administration.
• Outline the principles of management of pain, agitation and delirium in the critically ill patient and apply this knowledge to practice in real-life scenarios to improve patient  outcomes and reduce harm.   
• Assess the impact of liver dysfunction on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and devise a strategy to ensure pharmacotherapy is safe and effective in the context of liver disease.

Over two days, a multidisciplinary faculty of ICU clinical pharmacists, intensivists and nurses will share their clinical expertise and the latest evidence to provide participants with essential and practical skills in ICU pharmacotherapy.

Building on ESICM’s reputation of excellence in education, this course will be delivered by multiple modes of education, including plenary sessions, interactive workshops, case-based discussions and small group learning. There will be a strong emphasis on problem-solving skills and evidence-based clinical-decision making in ICU.

The sessions will include:

1. The ICU Environment & Practical Pharmacotherapy   
2. Shock
3. Inotropes & Vasopressors
4. Acute Kidney Injury & Drug Dosing in AKI & KRT
5. Medicines Optimisation & Safety on ICU
6. Infection & Sepsis on ICU
7. Antimicrobial PKPD
8. Pain, Agitation & Delirium
9. Drugs & The Liver
10. Six case studies to develop core skills in ICU pharmacotherapy facilitated by leading experts

This course is designed for all ICU professionals. It is particularly relevant to clinical pharmacists who are new or aspiring to work in ICU but will also be of interest to intensivists and other ICU professionals who want to improve their skillset in pharmacotherapy.

It aims to provide the core knowledge and skills required for delivery of safe and effective use of pharmacotherapy and support ICU professionals in achieving optimal outcomes in pharmaceutical care for patients.

The Core Skills in Intensive Care Pharmacotherapy Course, Virtual, Belgium 01/02/20267– 02/07/2026, has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) with 14.0 European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Each medical specialist should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.
Through an agreement between the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes and the American Medical Association, physicians may convert EACCME® credits to an equivalent number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Information on the process to convert EACCME® credit to AMA credit can be found at https://edhub.ama-assn.org/pages/applications.
Live educational activities, occurring outside of Canada, recognised by the UEMS-EACCME® for ECMEC®s are deemed to be Accredited Group Learning Activities (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.