Class Preparations

Even though I am kind of an old guy with a fake knee I still think I know what it's like to be a student.  For instance I understand and believe that the question; "What's on the exam?" is totally legitimate.  In my courses I try to make if very clear what will be on the exam.  Maybe not the exact specific questions but I try to leave little doubt about what content is relevant.  For instance in this course you will absolutely need to now normal ABG values, causes of respiratory failure (table 41-2 Egans) and the physiological indicators for ventilatory support (table 41-3 Egans) for a start.  Questions on these will be on the quizzes and exams!

Notice I'm giving a little plug to promote the fact that reading the text is good and starting off with reading Chapter 41 of Egans would be a very good idea.

Our first week will not be an idle one.  We will be getting into the material very quickly, see the course map from D2L for details.

One uncomfortable element at the beginning of the course is that we do a very brief introduction to ABG interpretation.  We need this background information but your ANPH 221 course is really where you will be learning the bulk of ABG interpretation.  ABG interpretation is a critical concept and will be tested in both courses and used frequently in all your courses.  The reason I say it's uncomfortable is that ABG interpretation is a very deep subject that we will only briefly touch on and learn how to do basic classification using a table method.

In class the first week we will also have a little review of the history of mechanical ventilation.  This is really just a nice introduction to the meat of the first module which is the "Indications for Mechanical Ventilation".  There will be not questions on quizzes or exams about the history of mechanical ventilation.  The quizzes and exams will be inundated with questions about the indications for mechanical ventilation.  I make it clear that the students must totally understand the numbers and elements of information contained in Table 41-3 of Egans (Physiological Indicators for Ventilatory Support) and this material will be part of quizzes and exams for the entire course, and even future courses in mechanical ventilation.  So I guess I'm trying to tell you a good place to get started.

Many class days I will have worksheets for you to do.  Some class time will be given for these but often they are completed at home.  Worksheets are reviewed in class and the answers are not published.  I have found that if I publish the answer sheets students are less likely to work on them and wait for the answers.  I do not publish the answers.  You will need to ask questions in class or review the material in the text and with other students to ensure you have the correct answers.

Okay enough for one sessions.

Al