COURSE DESCRIPTION

Offers clinical instruction in advanced patient care practice. Clinical 16 hours per week.

GENERAL COURSE PURPOSE

This course is offered in the fifth and final semester of the respiratory care program. The student is expected to function as a critical care therapist with limited supervision or instruction. The student should be able to correlate all classroom material received to this point with situations in the critical care setting.

ENTRY LEVEL COMPETENCIES

Prerequisite is RTH 253 – "Advanced Clinical Procedures III". The student must demonstrate competence in basic respiratory therapy instrumentation and adequate preparation for the course through successful completion of a written and laboratory exam prior to admittance into the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, the student must demonstrate proficiency in the following:

A. clinical application of mechanical ventilation graphics

B. cardiopulmonary assessment

C. advanced physiologic monitoring

A. Ventilatory weaning parameters

B. Pulmonary function testing

C. Hemodynamic monitoring

D. Patient assessment in critical care settings