ECMO training
Active Project · Kenya

ECMO Course — Nairobi

Establishing Kenya's first ECMO service, in partnership with Aga Khan University

14–16 September 2026 · Centre for Innovation in Medical Education (CIME), Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi

EINZ is partnering with Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUHN) to help establish Kenya's first ECMO service.

Over three days at the University's Centre for Innovation in Medical Education (CIME), EINZ faculty deliver an intensive, hands-on ECMO course — foundational teaching, high-fidelity simulation and ultrasound-guided cannulation training — paired with the program governance and quality-assurance structures a safe, sustainable service depends on. A train-the-trainer handover leaves the local team equipped to run a recurring in-house program, so the capability is Kenyan-led from the outset.

Education

Foundations, simulation and ultrasound-guided cannulation for the core ECMO team.

Governance

Complications surveillance, ELSO Registry participation and structured morbidity & mortality review.

Sustainability

Train-the-trainer handover of simulators and 3D-printed models to CIME.

Course faculty combine EINZ's international team — Stefan Wiebe, Julia Coull, Adrian Böhm, with Suraj Yalamuri and Brooke Riley joining remotely — and perfusion and nursing specialists, working alongside clinicians from Aga Khan University Hospital and the CIME team.

Program

Three days at CIME

Day 1 is open to the wider AKUHN clinical community in a lecture format. Days 2–3 are limited to the core ECMO team — cannulating clinicians, ECMO nurses and perfusion.

Day 1 · Monday 14 September

Foundations

Lecture theatre, CIME · open to AKUHN
08:00
Welcome, introductions and course objectives
Musumbi, Wiebe, Coull
08:20
Fundamentals of extracorporeal life support: history, nomenclature and physiology
Wiebe
09:00
The ECMO circuit: centrifugal pumps, membrane lungs, cannulas and circuit monitoring, with CentriMag-specific considerations
Rami, Bryant, Dugdale
Morning tea · 09:45
10:15
VV ECMO for respiratory failure: indications, timing and evidence
B. Riley (remote)
11:00
Nursing the ECMO patient: the ECMO specialist model, bedside safety checks and documentation
Dugdale
12:00
Patient selection workshop: applying the AKUHN inclusion and exclusion SOP to case vignettes
Musumbi, Wiebe
Lunch · 13:00
14:00
Cannulation: percutaneous techniques, ultrasound guidance, configurations and cannula selection
Wiebe
14:45
Daily management on ECMO: ventilation, sedation, pharmacology and nutrition
Coull, Dugdale
Afternoon tea · 15:30
16:00
VA ECMO foundations: cardiogenic shock and post-cardiotomy support; contraindications and the decision not to cannulate
Yalamuri (remote), Coull
16:40
Questions and briefing for Days 2–3
Coull, Wiebe
17:00
Close
Day 2 · Tuesday 15 September

Circuit Mastery and Simulation

CIME simulation theatre · core ECMO team
08:00
Recap and open questions from Day 1
Faculty
08:20
Live circuit walkthrough: assembly and priming of the CentriMag training circuit
Rami, Bryant, Dugdale
09:15
A structured approach to troubleshooting: alarms, pressures, flow problems and recirculation on VV ECMO
Böhm
Morning tea · 10:00
10:30
Wet drills — rotating stations: priming and de-airing; alarm response; pressure and flow interpretation; oxygenator assessment
All faculty
Lunch · 13:00
14:00
Simulation block (foundation scenarios with structured debriefing): access insufficiency; pump and power failure; air in the circuit
All faculty
Afternoon tea · 15:30
16:00
The blood–surface interface: anticoagulation strategy, monitoring, bleeding and thrombotic complications, and transfusion thresholds
Yalamuri (remote)
16:45
Wrap-up and briefing for Day 3
All faculty
17:00
Close
Day 3 · Wednesday 16 September

Cannulation, Crisis Management and Handover

CIME simulation theatre · core ECMO team
08:00
Recap and plan for the day
Wiebe
08:15
Cannulation training on vascular simulators: ultrasound-guided percutaneous VV and VA access, wire handling, cannula placement and securement
All faculty
Morning tea · 10:00
10:30
High-fidelity crisis scenarios (full team, escalating complexity): oxygenator failure with emergency circuit exchange; accidental decannulation; refractory hypoxemia on VV ECMO
All faculty
Lunch · 13:00
14:00
Program governance and quality assurance: complications surveillance, ELSO Registry participation, structured morbidity and mortality review
Wiebe, Musumbi
14:45
Train-the-trainer handover: transfer of simulators and 3D-print files to CIME; establishing a recurring in-house simulation program
All faculty, CIME team
Afternoon tea · 15:15
15:30
Weaning from ECMO: readiness assessment and weaning strategies for VV and VA support
Yalamuri (remote)
16:10
Decannulation: techniques, timing and post-decannulation care
Böhm, Wiebe
16:50
Course wrap-up and next steps
All faculty
17:00
Close

A partnership with Aga Khan University

This course is the first step of a longer collaboration: a Kenyan-led ECMO service, supported by EINZ with education, governance and the tools to keep training the next cohort locally. For enquiries about EINZ's capacity-building work, get in touch.