Airway Management: Basics for Healthcare Providers

Gaining control of the airway in a compromised patient is absolutely crucial. The purpose of this course is to provide practitioners, whether in the clinic, the intensive care unit, the emergency room, or in the community as a prehospital provider, with the clinical knowledge needed to rapidly and effectively assess the patient's airway and intervene efficiently to begin to ventilate the patient in distress. In addition, members of the public may use this course to enhance their personal knowledge of the subject matter presented.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Outline the pertinent history of airway management.
2. Review the anatomy and physiology of the mouth, oropharynx, nose, nasopharynx, and conducting airways of the lung.
3. Distinguish between the terms dead space and shunt, and explain how they can be altered.
4. Review the gas laws and determine the amount of oxygen being sent to the alveoli when the airway is managed.
5. Discuss the assessment of a patient prior to airway management.
6. Describe steps to manipulate the airway of a patient in respiratory distress.
7. Compare and contrast various devices available for airway management.

This 5-hour continuing education course is available for download for professional development; if continuing education credit is desired, please see instructions included in eBook.