Introduction

Extracorporeal techniques have been present in medicine for over 70 years. Many factors in history have influenced their development and popularisation, in particular the first discoveries of heparin in 1916 [1], the construction of cardiopulmonary bypass machine (CPB) by J.H. Gibbon [2], and finally the activity of J.D. Hill [3], J.C. German and A.B. Gazzaniga [4], and Robert Bartlett [5], who is also the author of the first RCT in perfusion support. In 1989, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (ELSO, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, www.elso.org) was established as a regulatory and supervisory body for extracorporeal techniques, conducting a registry, scientific research, and setting trends and guidelines for extracorporeal life support (ECLS) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) [6].

One of the breakthrough years was 2009, with the publication of the CESAR study [7] in “The Lancet” and the realisation of the real risk of the new pandemic influenza (H1N1). These 2 events caused extracorporeal techniques that were present in cardiac surgery to enter the framework of modern intensive care and critical therapy. The following years provided time for the structuring and lasting impact of extracorporeal techniques as a support technique in critical conditions in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has become an accelerating point for the world’s interest in extracorporeal techniques. At its peak in 2022, the number of ELSO-registered centres exceeded 600 worldwide, with an annual number of cases exceeding 22,000 [7–11].

Because the ECMO therapy organisational model is complex and expensive, we developed in 2019 a course about “Artificial Life Support with ECMO” and created the “Centre of Artificial Life Support and Patient Safety” within a University Medical Simulation Centre. The project was awarded funding from a competitive national grant POWER by the Polish Ministry of Health.

The project started in 2019, within the new “Centre of Artificial Life Support and Patient Safety” at Poznan University of Medical Sciences. The centre was equipped with modern simulation education tools and classroom technology. The training program included theoretical and practical components related to advanced ECLS/ECMO techniques, as well as workshops and immersive scenario-based simulations. Such deliverables were part of the requirements for entering the competition. The training program was evidence based and relied on valid national respiratory failure and Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (ELSO) guidelines. The “Artificial Life Support with ECMO” program was presented for ELSO endorsement, as the first in Poland. The program previously offered to 264 physicians was extended in 2022–2023 for 405 participants.