The Difficult Airway Course: Virtual 2020 (Nov 13 - 15, 2020)

The Difficult Airway Course: Virtual 2020 is a unique opportunity to learn from colleagues across the airway management spectrum and an ideal way to keep your airway knowledge and skills current – an especially important goal in these challenging times. All from the comfort of your home or office!

Essential Knowledge:
Expand how you think about:
• RSI & Pharmacology
• Applying the Airway Algorithms
• Physiology and the Physiologic Difficult Airway
• Pediatric & Obstetrical Airways
• The Anatomically Difficult Airway
• Failed Airway Management
• Awake Intubation & Flexible Endoscopy
• Extubation & Endotracheal Tube Exchange
• Crisis Resource Management / Human Factors

Essential Skills:
What makes your FIRST attempt your BEST attempt
• Bag Mask Ventilation & Bougie Maneuvers
• Flexible Endoscopic Intubation
• Extraglottic Devices (EGD)
• Laryngoscopy: Direct and Video (Yes, we do teach DL!)
• Surgical Airway — FONA and CICO
• Mike Murphy’s Famous Self-Scope & Personal Anatomy Lesson
• Topicalization and Awake Intubation (ATI)

Essential Cases:
Benefit from lived experiences
• Upper airway obstruction in a COVID-19+ patient
• The bleeding, traumatized, vomit-filled airway
• Can’t intubate/can’t oxygenate obese patient
• Severe angioedema needing evaluation and possible management
• And more!

Purpose & Objectives:
The overarching objective of The Difficult Airway Course portfolio of educational offerings is to present a conceptual and practical evidence-based framework for the evaluation and management of patients with a difficult and/or failed airway. This approach accommodates contextual and experiential factors that impact how patients are managed by different practitioners.
• Identify the potentially difficult airway.
• Recognize the unanticipated/difficult and failed airway.
• Develop an evidence-based, systematic approach for each of these clinical dilemmas.
• Organize a clear conceptual framework for the management of the anatomically and physiologically difficult and failed airway in all settings.
• Understand the medications, techniques and devices, including their advantages and hazards.
• Familiarize yourself with the devices and techniques needed to manage these clinical dilemmas, and identify when and how to use them.
• Describe the steps of awake intubation.
• Demonstrate proper surgical airway management techniques.
• Describe when and how to use an airway exchange catheter.
• Demonstrate safe extubation and tube exchange techniques.
• Use communication and team leadership techniques to optimize airway management.