Resp Care
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Comparative Study
Testing airway management skills: interactive video courseware vs ACLS instructor.
Lectures and demonstrations have been the teaching and testing strategies most often employed by the American Heart Association in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training. I compared the abilities of interactive videodisc (IVD) courseware and ACLS instructors to evaluate airway management skills. ⋯ Although the IVD system shows promise as an adjunct method for instruction and testing, it cannot be considered suitable for 'stand-alone' instruction. Further research is needed to explore costs, skills retention, and possible impact of the medium for training hospital and prehospital-care personnel.
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The health occupations and management literature does not specifically address role stress among technical directors of respiratory care departments. We undertook an analysis of role conflict, role ambiguity, and job satisfaction among technical directors of respiratory care departments in Texas. ⋯ We are encouraged by the low role-conflict and ambiguity scores observed but concerned about the elevated role-overload scores. We believe that an in-depth study of role overload among respiratory care managers is warranted.
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Withholding and withdrawing life support from the critically ill commonly occurs in clinical practice. Sedatives and analgesics are frequently given during this process to patients who are not so deeply comatose that they cannot benefit from them. The withholding and withdrawal of life support is compatible with several judicial decisions, including the recent Cruzan decision of the U. ⋯ Supreme Court. Recent studies are providing insights into how, why, and under what circumstances the withholding and withdrawal of life support take place, and how drugs are administered during these processes. Additional studies are needed to further elucidate these processes and to contribute to the shaping of realistic and humane standards of terminal care.