The ICU can really make an experienced nurse feel brand new again
You can be a perfectly capable nurse and still walk into ICU feeling wildly unprepared.
Now you’re looking at multiple drips, a ventilator, an art line, unfamiliar protocols, new equipment, a different style of report, and patients whose condition can change fast.
You know how to be a nurse.
But ICU has its own language, priorities, equipment, workflows, and unwritten rules, and learning all of that while you’re already trying to care for critically ill patients is… a lot.
That’s exactly why Breakthrough ICU exists.
Knowing it for an exam and knowing what matters at the bedside are two very different things.
You probably learned a lot of this in nursing school. But recognizing a concept on an exam and knowing what matters when you’re standing beside a critically ill patient with multiple drips, a ventilator, and a preceptor asking what you’re thinking? Very different experience.
At the same time, a lot of critical-care education is written for experienced ICU nurses and goes WAY deeper than you need when you’re still learning how the pieces fit together.
Breakthrough ICU is designed to contain just the right amount of detail to care for your patients safely and thoroughly while not going overboard and explaining every detail under the sun until you're so overwhelmed, you just wanna quit.
That means focusing on the practical ICU knowledge you actually need first: what to recognize, what to prioritize, what questions to ask, and what to expect at the bedside.
I get it. I was there.
Hi 👋 I’m Kati! The nurse behind FreshRN.
When I started in neurocritical care, I already had two years of cardiac med-surg experience behind me.
And ICU still made me feel brand new.
There was nursing-school information I technically knew, but unless I was using it regularly, I definitely didn’t remember it well enough to apply it in the middle of an intense situation.
And that’s a big part of what new ICU nurses are up against.
Yes, there are things you can only learn at the bedside: like how your unit enters orders, how your pumps work, how your specific team communicates, and all the little workflow details that come with actually being there.
But there is a LOT you can learn at home first.
So Breakthrough ICU was built to teach you the ICU-specific concepts you can learn at home, so so orientation isn’t the first time every concept is crossing your path.
What Breakthrough ICU students say
“This course was amazing and really helped with a good base to walk in looking less like a deer in headlights! Anything that flew straight over my head I listened to after I experienced it on the floor, and it helped solidify what I was learning in practice!”
— Christine Jepson, BSN, RN (CVICU)
“You don't feel like your head is going to explode because the information is presented in a way that is concise and only what you should REALLY know as a new nurse is addressed! They talk also about soft skills, self compassion. They really help you prepare mentally for what is ahead!”
— Steph, RN
“I took the FreshRN Breakthrough ICU course and it helped me tremendously! I was about 2 months away from starting my first critical care job after a year and a half on med-surg. This course solidified my understanding of several concepts that were unclear to me prior to taking this course. It also helped me build confidence before walking in on my first day!”
— Stephanie, RN, BSN
The ICU knowledge you actually need first
Breakthrough ICU covers both the clinical stuff and the human stuff, because being a good ICU nurse requires both. Here's what you'll learn:
Understand the ICU patient
Learn the patho, priorities, treatment basics, complications, and red flags behind the common disease processes you’ll see in critical care.
Get familiar with ICU equipment
Ventilators, central lines, arterial lines, oxygen devices, feeding tubes, monitors, CRRT, EVDs, chest tubes, and more.
Learn how the shift actually works
Time management, chart review, documentation, report, codes, rounding, patient priorities, and what to focus on when things stop going according to plan.
Communicate when the stakes feel high
Learn how to respectfully question an order, work with providers, talk with patients and families, handle difficult interactions, and advocate for yourself without feeling like you have to apologize for asking questions.
Take care of the nurse doing the work (you!)
We'll also work through handling stress, mistakes, perceived failures, death and dying, emotional support, realistic expectations, and how to stay sane when your patient’s worst day becomes part of your workday.
Six weeks. One ICU foundation, built piece by piece.
Week 1: Orientation
What to expect, time management, documentation, protocols, assertiveness, and your emotional wellbeing.
Week 2: Report + Your ICU Team
How to give and receive ICU report, work with providers and other nurses, delegate appropriately, and understand the team around you.
Week 3: Equipment
Monitors, oxygen devices, ventilators, central lines, arterial lines, feeding tubes, CRRT, EVDs, chest tubes, and more.
Week 4: Patient Care + Priorities
Assessment, chart review, rounds, clinical judgment, telemetry, hemodynamics, nutrition, mobility, and preventing secondary injury.
Week 5: Disease Processes + Diagnostics
Sepsis, ARDS, pneumonia, stroke, MI, renal failure, DKA, DVT/PE, DIC, COPD, CHF, labs, imaging, and more.
Week 6: Medications + Code Blues
Rapid response vs. code blue, what to do if you freeze, vasopressors, fluids, antiarrhythmics, anticoagulants, antibiotics, sedation, paralytics, and more.
And you’re not just getting six weeks of videos and a “good luck!”
Each week also includes a simple rhythm to help you stay focused, track your growth, and keep your head in the game while orientation is moving fast. Each week you'll get:
Huddle
A short video covering the key concepts Kati wants you focusing on that week.
3-2-1 Worksheet
A practical worksheet to track what you’re learning, where you still have questions, and how you’re progressing.
Shift Summary
A place to document what happened during your shifts, what’s getting easier, and what you still need support with.
Debrief
A follow-up video after you’ve had time at the bedside, so you can connect what you learned in the course with what actually happened that week.
Think of it like we took the highlighted parts of your nursing textbooks and made them actually useful at the bedside.
Breakthrough ICU combines the important clinical concepts you need to refresh with real ICU experience, practical context, 3D videos, equipment education, communication support, and the “nobody really explains this part” stuff that comes with being new to critical care.
So instead of wasting mental energy bouncing between random Google searches, nursing forums, giant textbooks, and highly technical articles written for people who have been in ICU for years, you have one place to start.
“This course turned an avalanche of information, that I would have had to look for myself in multiple sources, into a small hill of information that I was able to clearly understand.”
- Janely Rivera-Borges, BSN, RN
Meet your instructors
Want to see what the teaching actually looks like?
Take a peek inside one of the Common Disease Processes lessons (ARDS) so you can see how Breakthrough ICU explains complex ICU concepts without turning them into a 90-minute lecture you’ll never finish 👇
“I'm a new grad Surgical ICU nurse and having the info readily available for me to review at home is SO helpful. I also appreciate how well you break the concepts down, it really helps me build a bit of a structure in my head for the different diseases and devices I'm learning to use. This course has been such an incredible resource for me, I've been on my own for about 4 months now and having this to look back to for review has been so helpful.”
— Kira, RN
“I felt like I had another preceptor for the entire time. I’ve only been off orientation for about two months, but I had a year of med/surg experience as well and I still learned so much! Thank you for this awesome course. I have recommended it to everyone I know who wants to go to the ICU!”
— Joshua Ratermann
“Super helpful to have this content alongside my new grad program. I really appreciated the weekly worksheets and things like the "common ICU drips" list. This really helped keep me focused and learning on my days off.”
— Jaclyn Clark
Want to hear from more nurses who’ve taken Breakthrough ICU? Read 60+ Breakthrough ICU reviews →
Want to see every lesson?
- Sepsis
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) (5:00)
- Pneumonia (4:51)
- Stroke (4:08)
- Myocardial Infarction (4:14)
- Renal Failure (4:45)
- Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) (9:06)
- DVT & PE (8:42)
- Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) (4:48)
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (4:22)
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) (4:55)
14-Day Money-Back Guarantee
You can try Breakthrough ICU for 14 days.
If it isn’t the right fit, you can request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Full refund details are below in the FAQ.
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FAQs
When does the course start and finish?
You can start Breakthrough ICU as soon as you enroll. The course is released over six weeks, and it’s yours to keep with lifetime access.
Is Breakthrough ICU only for new grads?
No. Breakthrough ICU is designed for nurses who are new to critical care, whether ICU is your first nursing job or you’re transitioning from med-surg, stepdown, ED, or another specialty.
I’m already on ICU orientation. Is it too late to start?
Nope! Jump right in where you're at, and if you'd like us to release the later modules early, just reach out to contact@freshrn.com and we'll take care of that for you!
Do I get the whole course immediately?
You’ll receive a new set of modules each week for six weeks so you can work through the content alongside orientation without getting hit with everything at once.
If you prefer the full course to be unlocked early, just reach out (contact@freshrn.com) and we can absolutely do that for you!
How long do I have access to the course?
Lifetime access. 🙌
Once you enroll, you can come back to Breakthrough ICU anytime you need a refresher, across any device you use.
What if I'm unhappy with the course? What's the refund policy?
We would never want you to be unhappy! You can request a full refund within 14 days of purchase. The only refund requirements are: The refund must be requested and issued within 14 days of purchase (please allow 2-3 business days for refunds to be processed), less than 50% of the course must be completed, and any previously offered CE credits cannot be claimed.
Do I get continuing education with this course?
While it was approved for hours at one time, we decided not to renew them to keep the cost of the course low, as very few people actually claimed the contact hours.
You don't need to know every answer before your next ICU shift.
What helps is having a strong foundation for what you’re looking at, what matters first, and what questions to ask when you’re not sure.
Breakthrough ICU helps you familiarize yourself with more of the unknown at home, so the first time you hear about a vasopressor, see an arterial line, give ICU report, or work through a rapidly changing patient situation, you’re not starting from absolute zero.
6 weeks • 13+ hours of education • 25+ downloads • Lifetime access