From September 2025 to February 2026, EUCARE successfully completed its first round of international fellowships — marking a major milestone for the project and for critical care nursing in Europe. Critical care nursing is one of the most specialised and essential roles in modern healthcare. While Europe’s intensive care units face many of the same challenges, opportunities for nurses to exchange expertise across borders remain limited. EUCARE is changing that. Turning EUCARE’s Vision into Reality EUCARE — the European Critical Care Nursing Fellowship Programme— was developed by the Nursing Network within the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA). The initiative, funded by Erasmus+, aims to strengthen critical care nursing in Europe by facilitating the exchange and transfer of clinical knowledge among nurses. To achieve this, EUCARE has developed a specialised blended programme for critical care nurses, combining e-learning with in-person fellowships. Through the programme, critical care nurses from EUHA hospitals complete structured fellowships in another EUHA partner hospital, enabling meaningful knowledge exchange and hands-on learning across borders and contributing to Europe’s readiness for future health crises. Participating hospitals include: Karolinska University Hospital UZ Leuven Ospedale San Raffaele Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Universitätsklinikum – AKH Wien Erasmus MC What Fellows Experienced Over the course of six months, from September 2025 to February 2026, 27 critical care nurses from across EUHA have taken part in two-week hands-on fellowships in six EUHA hospitals, strengthening both clinical expertise and cross-border collaboration in critical care. While every fellowship was adapted to the hosting partner, common themes emerged across the six hosting hospitals. Nurses have participated in immersive fellowships that combined hands-on clinical experience with shadowing local mentors across a wide range of specialised units, including adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU), paediatric ICU, cardiac surgery ICU, and neurosurgery ICU, among others. Fellows also took part in simulation training covering mass-casualty events, disaster scenarios, and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) situations. In addition, the fellowships offered a rich programme of educational activities and workshops, featuring real-life crisis testimonies, expert lectures, and sessions on psychological impact, ethics, and moral distress in disaster and critical care settings. For many fellows, the experience revealed something simple yet powerful: despite coming from different countries, backgrounds, and working conditions, critical care nurses across Europe share the same dedication, a strong sense of community, and solidarity — and much to learn from one another. ‹ EUCARE shows that it makes no difference in which European country we work. We are all nurses who want to provide the best possible care for our patients. Mandy Hardorff, an intensive care nurse from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam who participated in the fellowship at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Only three years have passed since the application for the Erasmus funded project for ECUCARE, yet the world has fundamentally changed.At Charité, we are glad to have set the course at an early stage in close coordination with our EUHA partners to advance European networking and continuing education for nurses” Alexander Lang, Project Manager of EUCARE and Officer for International Partnerships and Networks at the International Affairs Office › ‹ Training session at Erasmus MC Hands-on fellowship workshop in UZ Leuven Fellows at Universitätsklinikum – AKH Wien Fellows at Karolinska University Hospital Simulation training for disaster scenarios at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Participants from EUCARE training programme at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Visiting fellows at Ospedale San Raffaele › A Why This Matters EUCARE was developed in response to growing global threats and major health emergencies affecting Europe, including pandemics, war, and natural disasters. At the same time, healthcare systems are under increasing strain from rising demand, higher costs, and an ageing population — pressures that can reduce accessibility and limit resilience during future health emergencies. These challenges are compounded by persistent workforce shortages across Europe, which stretch healthcare services and highlight the urgent need for stronger preparedness and innovative solutions. When systems are under pressure, having a workforce that is highly skilled, adaptable, and connected across borders becomes more important than ever. By enabling critical care nurses to train across borders, EUCARE strengthens not only individual professional development, but also Europe’s collective resilience — supporting a shared culture of high-quality intensive care and crisis readiness. . What’s Next Starting in March 2026, a second round of fellowships will take place and will involve all hospitals, with the exception of San Raffaele, which is currently facing staffing constraints. Their programme will include a two-week clinical exposure, educational activities, and cross-border knowledge exchange, strengthening their expertise and fostering collaboration within the EUHA community. For more information visit EUCARE’s website.