Complex care depends on a team that works together.

ECMO is rare and highly complex. When it is needed, every action counts. Errors arise not from a lack of knowledge, but from uncertainty, a lack of routine and poor coordination within the team. Our ECMO training combines technical competence and team performance in a single simulator.

What the training offers

Greater confidence in critical situations
Structured decisions under time pressure
Clear communication across the team
Reduction of errors under stress
Clearer processes and roles
Approved for Austrian DFP/PFP continuing education credits

Turn a group of experts into an expert team.

RESEARCH EVIDENCE

Why ECMO teams need structured training

ECMO is one of the most complex therapies in modern intensive care medicine. Outcomes and complication rates depend directly on the experience and routine of the team providing care — not solely on the indication.

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) therefore recommends structured simulation training as an integral part of every ECMO programme in its guidelines. Studies show that programmes with regular simulation training have lower complication rates, shorter response times and measurably better team performance in critical situations.

The real problem is rarely technical knowledge. It is the gap between knowing what to do and doing it under severe stress, when decisions about indications, cannulation, equipment management and team communication must all happen at the same time.

Med-STA ECMO training closes precisely this gap. Technical skills and teamwork are trained together in the same scenario, using original materials, real equipment and the real team.

Sources: Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), Guidelines for ECMO Centers. — Brum R et al., Simulation-based training in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a systematic review, Perfusion.

SIMLUTIONS® – SIMULATION SOLUTIONS BY MED-STA

What makes our ECMO simulator unique.

We developed an ECMO simulator that brings together two areas often taught separately:

Technical skills

Realistic cannulation using clinical materials, VA- and VV-ECMO simulation, in situ monitoring, realistic ventilation challenges and management of complications at the device.

Team skills

Communication under pressure, decisions in a crisis and clear roles across the team.

— practised together, in the same scenario.

Explore SIMLUTIONS® →

What we practise.

Patient selection & decision-making When is ECMO appropriate, when is it not, and who makes the decision?
Cannulation using clinical materials Practise technical skills under realistic conditions.
VA- and VV-ECMO simulation Both modalities, with their respective clinical settings.
Managing complications At the device, under time pressure.
Team communication under pressure Roles, clinical handover and closed-loop communication.

Why Med-STA

Experience, certification and recognition that matter

Training teams since 2005

Over 25,000 participants trained in real workplaces rather than classrooms.

ERC course centre & continuing education approval

An official ERC course centre, with Austrian DFP and ÖGKV PFP approval and documented continuing education.

Recognised in 2025

Austrian Patient Safety Award 2025 and HRO-Award 2025: independent recognition of quality.

A globally unique ECMO simulator

Powered by SIMLUTIONS®: our own simulator combines technical skills, including cannulation using clinical materials and VA/VV-ECMO, with team performance in a single scenario.

WHO WE TRAIN

Who ECMO training is designed for

We train interprofessional ECMO teams across specialties and throughout the care pathway, from decisions about treatment to management at the device.

Established ECMO centres

ECMO programmes in development

Cardiac surgery departments & cardiac centres

Medical & surgical intensive care units

Paediatric intensive care & paediatric ECMO

ECMO retrieval teams

Anaesthesia & operating theatres supporting ECMO

Interprofessional ECMO teams

Tailored to your needs on request

Further reading: ECMO training: why technical skills alone are not enough →

NEXT STEP

Plan ECMO training for your centre

In an initial consultation, we discuss your programme’s stage of development, participants, scenarios and format, tailored to your team, equipment and the specific risks of your ECMO programme.

Request a consultation →

Free of charge · No obligation · GDPR-compliant