Professional/Short course Assessment and Management of Respiratory Disorders

Content

This level 6 (undergraduate level) module syllabus will typically cover a range of respiratory disorders, including diseases of the airways; such as asthma and COPD, the alveoli; such as interstitial lung disease, and the respiratory impact of other conditions; such as Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

Additionally, you will develop the underpinning knowledge and skills with respect to a patient-centred care pathway by:

• understanding the application of instrumentation - flow and volume transducers, amplifiers and digitization, gas analysers for carbon monoxide, methane/helium, oxygen, nitrogen and nitric oxide, including the importance of quality assurance programmes.
• applying the knowledge of normal respiratory mechanics, gas exchange at alveolar level through to cellular level (the pathway of oxygen) and the control of respiration in the awake state at rest and on exercise and in the sleep state in relation to pathophysiological changes in the disease state.
• understanding the application of reference values from aged four years upwards and the effects of sex and ethnicity to the interpretation of the effects of disease states.
• assessing dynamic lung volumes and flows, airway inflammation, and the response to bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.
• measuring static lung volumes using at least one technique of body plethysmography, nitrogen washout or helium dilution.
• assessment of gas exchange through the use of arterial/capillary blood gases and CO Transfer Factor.
• applying pulse oximetry as spot-check and during field exercise testing/cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to assess non-invasive gas exchange.
• applying these measurements to a range of respiratory and non-respiratory disorders and interpreting the results.
• applying imaging techniques in the assessment of respiratory patients - chest x-ray, CT and MRI scanning.

Learning and Teaching

Delivery of this module will be via:

• blended learning with on-campus teaching and practical skills (block weeks), coupled with online lectures/tutorials and webinars provided throughout the academic year on a timetabled basis.
• practice-based learning where you will learn and develop your skills through clinical practice by interaction with patients and teaching from senior practitioners within your department.

Assessment

Assessment of this module comprises two parts:

• a case study (3,000 words) centred around a respiratory disorder case encountered in your workplace
• an Observed Practical Skills Assessment.