How I Teach: The Basics of Mechanical Ventilation

Mechanical ventilation is a fundamental intervention in the management of the critically ill. Ventilator strategies and delivery of safe mechanical ventilation can significantly impact patient outcomes. Despite its clinical significance, mechanical ventilation training and curriculum for the graduate medical education trainees are lacking in standardization. This issue is further compounded by inconsistencies in the terminology used among critical care specialists, as well as differences in the proprietary names for similar ventilator modes by various ventilator models. Simplifying these issues into a basic understanding of pressure-, flow-, and volume-time scalars, followed by the introduction of advanced concepts in a constructivist approach, allows learners to build a knowledge scaffold that can help guide clinical decision-making in the intensive care unit. In this article, we focus on incorporating a standardized approach to explain the basics of mechanical ventilation. We created our curriculum based on Kolb's experiential learning theory. We planned our didactic sessions into interactive classroom-based discussions using teaching props and hands-on simulation with case-based learning.