Intensive Care Medicine

Graduates of this Professional Certificate will have specialised knowledge in intensive care medicine.

Graduates will be able to:

• Explain the rationale for oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation, including its effects on human physiology
• Appropriately initiate, monitor and escalate respiratory support consisting of oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation and invasive mechanical ventilation
• Describe medical gas supply systems, common ventilator systems, respiratory circuits and humidifier equipment, including their safety features and limitations
• Manipulate a mechanical ventilator and interpret data, including ventilator waveforms
• Analyse common ventilator data and problems and apply evidence-based solutions to routine and complex patient care scenarios
• Modify ventilator therapies and apply non-ventilator strategies to minimise complications and maximise effectiveness from mechanical ventilation
• Explain the components, rationale and indications for various extracorporeal life support (ECLS) modalities and their effects on human physiology
• Manipulate user-controlled variables via an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) console, predict the physiological consequences of the resulting changes
• Analyse common ECMO troubleshooting scenarios
• Apply evidence-based solutions to routine and complex patient care scenarios requiring ECLS, including weaning.