Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of nurses’ qualifications and roles in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: an online cross-sectional survey

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a critical life-support system necessitating multidisciplinary management. This cross-sectional study assessed healthcare professionals’ views on the roles, qualifications, and training requirements of ECMO nurses. An online cross-sectional survey was administered using SurveyMonkey from February 17 to May 10, 2025. Health professionals from various fields and countries were invited using social media platforms. The questionnaire was created following ECMO guidelines and evaluated by five experts. It encompassed areas including fundamental ECMO knowledge, nursing qualifications, educational requirements, practice obstacles, and demographic variables. The survey included Likert-style, multiple-choice, binary, and open-ended items. A total of 93 healthcare professionals from 12 countries responded. Most participants were nurses (n = 35; 37.6%) or ECMO specialist nurses (n = 21, 22.6%). Thirty-two (34.4%) respondents mentioned that their institutions provided ECMO-specific nursing training. Participants identified complication prevention as the top training priority (n = 72, 77.4%). Essential nursing competencies included monitoring for device integrity (n = 88, 94.6%) and signs of hypoperfusion (n = 84, 90.3%). Primary barriers were inadequate training (n = 42, 45.2%), shortage of ECMO nurses (n = 40, 43.0%), and excessive workload (n = 40, 43%). The majority of participants highlighted the necessity of enhancing educational infrastructure as the primary strategy to improve ECMO nurse involvement (n = 70, 75.3%). Nurses are essential to ECMO care. Emphasizing hands-on training, implementing standardized competence frameworks, and tackling structural obstacles are crucial for enhancing ECMO nursing practices. Given that some rheumatic disorders require ECMO due to severe autoimmune and multiorgan issues, the evolution of ECMO nursing should include a rheumatology-focused approach. Integrating rheumatology-specific understanding into ECMO nurses' education and practice is critical for improving outcomes in patients on ECMO.