Peer Review

“Arterial Blood Gas Analysis” is a tutorial with an interactive case-study
component designed for medical care providers. This resource is designed to
review or teach the basic principles of arterial blood gas analysis. Users
progress through an introduction, a self-paced review of concepts and key points
of blood gas analysis, and six scenarios in case study format. Interaction and
immediate feedback with rationale for both correct and incorrect responses are
built into the lessons. This resource is part of the Virtual Hospital digital
health science library of the University of Iowa; internal peer review was in
1999.

Dibactic information followed by case studies with questions is the format. The format is an interactive tutorial supports critical thinking skills and provide insight into application of concepts to patients. Learners may either choose to read through the didactic prior to answering case study questions or for licensed personnel, they may choose to read and answer case studies and then remediate in the didactic portion. The resources linked from this learning object are outstanding making it a source of excellent reference material.

This resource can be used as either support for in-calss course work, review for board preparation, or remediation/ongoing education, for licensed health care providers. It is useful in developing skills in arterial blood gas analysis. Because it is an interactive case study that poses questions and gives feedback
for all responses (correct or incorrect), the resource can be used for
independent learning as well as for an in-class discussion focus. The site is
organized so that the user can repeat lessons and case studies or progress to
the next area.

Users should begin at
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/internalmedicine/abg/Introduction.html for the
entire learning experience: (1) introduction, (2) basic concepts of arterial
blood gas analysis (arterial blood gas, gas exchange, and acid-base
disturbances), (3) systematic analysis of arterial blood gases (oxygenation and
stepwise approach to acid-base disorders, and (4) case studies for developing
skills in arterial blood gas analysis.

There are no special technical requirements for using this resource.

The major learning goal is to have the learner gain a fundamental understanding of oxygenation and acid-base disturbances through a practical and systematic data analysis approach based on current, authoritative medical information.Application of this knowledge with case studies is provided.

The site is designed primarily for health care providers.The targeted student populations would be medical students and other medical
specialists including graduate and upper level undergraduate students in the
health professions i.e., nurses and nurse practitioners, physicians
assistants and respiratory therapists.

Prerequiesites knowledge for this site would be a background in respiratory physiology , anatomy and physilogy, chemistry and pathophysiology is recommended but not required. A review of basic medical terminology is included.