Wow our first week of classes is already over and I’m a little concerned because I had to start off with the dreaded “Blood Gas Introduction”. Please be assured that this is an introduction to orient us to basic ABG values and the classification terminology. You will notice there is no Power Point and few official notes except for the worksheets. This is because ABG’s are part of mechanical ventilation in that we use the ABG’s as a guide to manage the patient.
That said; this next section on indications for mechanical ventilation is important and interesting. Egans chapter 41 is some good reading and all the critical elements of the course are captured there. Sometimes students comment that they are uncomfortable when Instructors mention different pathologies that cause respiratory failure. I can totally empathize with you as pathology is a huge area of study and not yet something you have studied in detail. The course survival mechanism for this is to look at the table 41-2 page 956 and maybe write out a very brief description for some of the basic pathologies. I know this is work but a quick “Google” search or a “Wikipedia” search can give you all the basic info you need. Some of the first pathologies you may be interested in and I tend to use in class are; adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and pulmonary infections / pneumonia. Remember you can always ask in class for me to describe the pathology but it’s hard to grasp my one sentence descriptions delivered off the cuff and on the fly.
My method of using worksheets and in-class exercises I hope works for you. Notice that I will really emphasize key elements when making presentations and you may wish to focus on this when it comes time for review.
I really enjoy the sidebar discussions and questions in class so please speak up!
Al
