RET1832 - Clinical Respiratory Care I

Academic Dean’s Contact Information

LAKELAND DEAN’S OFFICE: LLC 2255              PHONE: (863) 297-1024
WINTER HAVEN DEAN’S OFFICE: WSC 101      PHONE: (863) 297-1020

Polk State College Mission and Program Outcomes

Polk State College, a quality driven institution, transforms lives through the power of education by providing access to affordable associate and baccalaureate degrees, career certificates, and workforce employment programs, delivered by diverse, qualified faculty and staff. In line with this purpose, Polk State’s Associate in Science and baccalaureate degree programs develop competence in various career-related skills. This course focuses on the development of competencies related to the following program outcomes:

1. Display  a sound basis in the scientific principles which form the foundation of respiratory care practice.

2. Understand the normal and abnormal states of cardiopulmonary physiology which are observed and/or treated in the clinical setting.

3. Demonstrate a clear idea of his/her role, responsibilities, ethics and professional conduct.

4. Apply the appropriate equipment, medical gases, and medications which are utilized by the respiratory care profession.

5. Demonstrate skills and techniques associated with the safe practice of respiratory care.

6. Communicate effectively in oral and written formats.

7. Display critical thinking skills and analysis which will be a resources for continued personal and professional growth.

 
Course Objectives:

Given a hospital/clinic rotation in a Respiratory Care Department/area, the student will be able to state the rationale for and apply the proper procedures to a 100% proficiency in performing:

Patient assessment
Vital Signs
Humidity and Aerosol Therapy
Medical Gas Therapy
Hyperinflation therapy and other adjunctive breathing techniques
Airway Management
Respiratory pharmacology
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Pulmonary drainage and airway clearance procedures with related equipment
Arterial puncture and analysis
Patient Education
Cleaning and Sterilization of respiratory care equipment
Utilization of protocols in the management of patient care
Basic Electrocardiogram
Special Procedure observation

 

Course Content:

Given a hospital/clinic rotation in a Respiratory Care Department, the student will be able to state the rationale for and apply the proper procedures to 100% proficiency in the performance of:

I.        General Patient Care
      A.    Hand washing techniques
      B.    Universal precautions
      C.    Infection control procedures
      D.    Vital sign measurements
           1.     Respiratory rate
           2.     Pulse
           3.     Blood pressure
           4.     Oximetry
           5.     Temperature

II.    Patient Assessment
      A.   Head to toe assessment with concentration on the Cardiopulmonary system
           1.     Cardiopulmonary assessment
                 a.    Inspection to determine:
                      i.    General appearance as chest configuration, diaphragmatic movement, breathing pattern, accessory muscle activity, asymmetrical
                          chest movement, nasal flaring, diaphoresis, cyanosis, peripheral edema, venous distention, muscle wasting
                     ii.     Cough, amount and character of sputum
                    iii.      As pertinent, gestational age, Apgar score
                 b.    Palpation to determine:
                      i.     Heart rate, rhythm and force
                     ii.      Tactile fremitus, crepitus, tenderness, secretions in the airway, tracheal deviation and symmetrical chest movements.
                 c.     Auscultation to determine:
                      i.     Normal/abnormal breath sounds
                     ii.     Normal/abnormal heart sounds and rhythms
                    iii.     Blood pressure
                 d.    Interview the patient to determine:
                     i.      Level of consciousness, orientation to time, place and person, ability to cooperate, level of pain
                    ii.      Presence of dyspnea and/or orthopnea, work of breathing, sputum production and activities of daily living (ADL’s)
                   iii.      Social history as smoking , substance abuse
                   iv.      Patient’s learning needs
      B.    Reading the patient’s chart
           1.     Diagnosis/ Chief complaint (CC)
           2.     History and Physical
           3.     Physicians’ orders and checking for orders
           4.     Radiographic and Laboratory data
      C.    Proper charting for recording assessment and therapy data

III. Oxygen Supply Systems
      A.    Operation of high pressure regulators
      B.    Transporting cylinders
      C.    Cylinder safety 
      D.    Placement of a regulator on an “E” or “D” cylinder
      E.    Patient setup and operation with an “E” or “D” cylinder
      F.    Converting cylinder pressure and flow rates to operating time
      G.   Monitoring oxygen storage systems
      H.   Operating wall outlets
      I.     Checking flowmeters

IV.  Oxygen Therapy Devices
      A.    Low flow systems- criteria and set-up
           1.    Nasal Cannula
           2.    Simple face mask
           3.    Partial rebreathing mask
           4.    nonrebreathing mask
      B.   High flow systems - criteria and set-up
           1.    Venturi mask
           2.  Other high flow device/system
      C.   Monitoring oxygen equipment
           1.    Oxygen analyzer(s)

V.   Aerosol and Humidity Therapy
      A.  Assembling and operating the appropriate humidity device
           1.  Simple humidifier
           2.  Heat and moisture exchanger (HME)
           3.  Cascade humidifier
           4.  Other humidity devices that are site specific
      B.  Assembling and using aerosol delivery devices
           1.  Aerosol mask
           2.  Tracheostomy mask
           3.  Briggs adaptor (T-piece)
           4.  Face Tent
           5.  Oxyhood
           6.  Pedi tent (croupette)
           7.  Large volume nebulizers
           8.  Small volume (hand-held) nebulizers
                a.  Preparing medications for aerosol delivery
                b.  Delivering medication
                c.   Assessing patient outcomes
           9.  Metered dose inhalers, (MDI’s)
                a.  Correct medication
                b.  Correct operation
                c.   with and without spacer devices
                d.  Dry powder inhalers
          10. Ultrasonic therapy (USN)

VI.   Cleaning and sterilization of Respiratory Care equipment
      A.   Disassembling equipment for cleaning
      B.   Germicidal soak
      C.  Cold sterilization
      D.   Gas and/or heat sterilization
      E.    Handling and packaging sterilized equipment
      F.    Sampling for bacteria
      G.   Assure proper handling of biohazardous materials

VII. Lung hyperinflation therapy
      A.   Incentive spirometer or Intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB)
          1.      Assessment of need - protocol for hyperinflation therapy.
          2.      Preparing medications for delivery with hyperinflation therapy, IPPB.
          3.      Administration of therapy
                a.    Making proper machine adjustments with IPPB
          4.      Assessing patient outcomes (refer to protocol, as available)
          5.      Administration of Incentive spirometry, positive expiratory pressure (PEP) devices
                a.    Assessment of need
                b.    Proper patient instruction
                c.     Assessing patient outcomes (refer to protocol/standing orders)
          6.      Breathing Exercises (see standing orders, “D.B. & C.”
                a.    Assessment of need
                b.    Proper patient instruction
                c.     Assessing patient outcomes

VIII.Pulmonary drainage and clearance (pulmonary toilet)
       A.  Chest physiotherapy (CPT) and postural drainage (PD)
           1.    Assessment of need (refer to protocol, as available)
           2.  Percussion
                a.    Manual percussion
                b.    Mechanical percussion
                c.     Percussive vest
                     1.   Proper patient instruction
                d.  Assessing patient outcomes
           3.    Mucous clearance devices, vibratory pep (“Flutter valves”)
                a.    Assessment of need
                b.    Proper patient instruction
                c.     Assessing patient outcomes

IX.   Remove Bronchopulmonary Secretions
       A. Observe and perform oropharyngeal suctioning 
       B. Observe and perform nasotracheal suctioning
       C. Instruct and encourage bronchopulmonary hygiene techniques

X.    Environmental Control
       A.   Monitoring oxygen environments with an oxygen analyzer
       B.   Calibration and maintenance of oxygen analyzers

XI.   Electrocardiograms
       A.  Observe/performing the basic 12lead ECG

XII. Arterial Blood Gas Analysis
       A.   Arterial puncture
           1.   Correct technique
           2.   Allen’s test
       B.   Sampling from arterial lines
       C.  Capillary sticks
       D.  Mixed venous sampling
       E.  Correct handling of the blood sample
       F.   Operating the blood bas analyzer
       G.  Quality control (QC) of the blood gas machine

XIII.Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) /airway management

XIV. Specific area rotations
       A.   General Medical/Surgical care floors
       B.   Pediatrics
       C.   Emergency Department
       D.   Cardiopulmonary Department
            1.    Respiratory Equipment maintenance, cleaning
                 a.   select proper agent for disinfection/sterilization, observe/perform procedures and monitor effectiveness
                 b.   assure proper handling of biohazardous materials
            2.    Pulmonary function lab
            3.    Specialized cardiopulmonary testing
            4.    Arterial Blood Gas lab
            5.    Electrocardiograms (ECG)

XV.  Observation of Intubation, bronchoscopy and other specialized procedures

Textbook and Other Requirements

Textbook information is provided in the course syllabus, at the campus bookstore, on the campus bookstore website (www.polk.bncollege.com), or via the “Shop Textbooks” button on the PASSPORT schedule of classes.

Student Help

The professor is available for help during posted hours and by appointment during other non-class hours. Each student is encouraged to seek assistance from the professor. To further the educational process, the Learning Resources Centers, comprised of the campus Teaching/Learning and Computing Centers (TLCCs), JDA Student Success Center, and campus libraries, are available for student use. Each resource provides qualified staff and up-to-date equipment and facilities to promote academic success. The TLCCs and JDA Student Success Center provide tutoring services, computing resources, and other instructional support. The library provides information resources, individual and group study space, research assistance, information literacy instruction, and computing resources. Each facility provides free wireless access to the Internet. The Polk State College Library, Student Success Center, and TLCC hours of operation and tutoring schedules are posted at each facility and on the College website.

Withdrawing From a Course

A student may officially withdraw from a course during any given term, provided he or she follows the appropriate policy and procedure. Following the conclusion of the Drop period, students may officially withdraw without receiving a grade from any course, provided they do so no later than the published withdrawal deadline. The published deadline reflects approximately (but no more than) 70% of the term, based upon the course’s scheduled duration. It is the student’s responsibility to submit these withdrawal forms; failure to do so may result in a grade of F in the course. Under the Forgiveness Policy, a student is allowed only three attempts in any one course: one initial enrollment and two repeats. A student is not allowed to withdraw from a third course attempt. Limited admission programs may have specific guidelines regarding course withdrawal that vary from this policy; these guidelines are listed in the specific program handbooks. If a student stops attending class, the grade earned, usually an F, is assigned and posted. Prior to withdrawing from a course, the student should consult with the Financial Aid Office to determine what impact, if any, withdrawal from the course will have on his or her financial aid status. A student cannot use course withdrawal to avoid academic dishonesty penalties. A student who has been penalized for academic dishonesty in a course is not eligible to withdraw from the course.

Repeating a Course

Under the Forgiveness Policy, a student is allowed only three attempts in any one college credit course: one initial enrollment and two repeats. Under certain circumstances, a student may petition to repeat a credit course beyond the third attempt. Limited admission programs may have specific guidelines regarding repeating courses that vary from this policy; these guidelines are listed in the specific handbooks. The student should be aware that repeating a course may result in a higher course cost. A course cannot be repeated unless the previously earned grade is a D, F, or W (the Polk State Catalog provides further details regarding this process). Prior to repeating a course, the student should consult with the Financial Aid Office to determine what impact, if any, repeating the course will have on his or her financial aid status.

Academic Dishonesty

Each student is responsible for his or her work. It is assumed that each student is honest and will abide by this standard; however, in the event that there is an indication or suspicion of cheating or plagiarism, the situation shall be dealt with in accordance with the published College policy. Copies of this policy are available in the Student Services Office. More specific information can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Information Technology Access/Use Policy

The information technology resources provided by Polk State College (this includes, but is not limited to, telephones, computers, the Polk State Local Area and Wide Area Networks, and the Internet) must be used for academic purposes only. Use of these resources is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use can result in revocation or suspension of this privilege.

Equal Access/Opportunity

Polk State College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment. The College complies with all state and federal laws granting rights to students, employees, and applicants for employment or admission to the College. Polk State College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, disability, or pregnancy in its programs, activities, or employment.

The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:
Valparisa Baker
Director, Equity and Diversity (Title IX Coordinator)
999 Avenue H NE
Winter Haven, FL 33881
Office: WAD 227
Telephone: (863) 292-3602
e-mail: vbaker@polk.edu

Equal Opportunity For Students With Disabilities

The College complies with The Americans with Disabilities Act and provides equal educational opportunity for qualified individuals. A student with a disability who requires special accommodations or auxiliary aids under The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should contact the Coordinator or Director of Disability Services. Note: Limited admission programs may have performance restrictions that apply. Restrictions (where applicable) are outlined in each program’s student handbook.

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