Join Bobbie Perkins of the Dallas Meditation Center for a second guided meditation created specifically for our attendees. Bobbie will guide you through a meditation in a peaceful setting to calm, sooth and relax your mind, body and spirit during this stressful time. Prepare for peace.

This presentation will discuss the use of HFNC and NIV ventilation in acute hypoxemia and hypercarbic respiratory failure, re-intubation prevention, and chronic respiratory failure management. The principal factors related to patient comfort and interface will be highlighted.

Researchers and clinicians present their findings in sessions grouped by topic. Authors briefly present their findings and engage in an open discussion with the moderators and attendees.

So, HR called and wanted to see you. You went down and there was this man in a suit with a badge and he had medical records he wanted to talk to you about. Yikes! Do you need a lawyer? Do you have to talk to him? Can he really threaten to pull your license? Sometimes investigators overreach. Knowing what your rights are in a Board investigation is important.

Looking for a scrumptious dessert? Join Heather Willden, AARC Communications Manager, as she shares her family-favorite recipe.

This presentation will look at a case study of a patient who had the flu, was intubated at one hospital then transferred to another for ECMO evaluation. Attendees will review the patient’s perspective on treatment in the acute care setting. The presenter will discuss the course of care before, during and after VV ECMO.

This session is part of the “Post-Acute Respiratory Care” symposium.

This talk focuses on identifying and overcoming barriers for high acuity respiratory patients transitioning home or to a skilled nursing facility from the hospital. Attendees will learn tips for implementing a successful long-term transitional care program specialized in disease management, medication and equipment education Outcome measures to increase compliance, reduce readmission rates, and improve patient quality of life will also be shared.

This session is part of the “Post-Acute Respiratory Care” symposium.

When evaluating the ethical issues of a situation, health care providers are encouraged to select a specific principle and make ethical recommendations based on that principle. However, many situations involve more than one ethical principle. This presentation will explore the battle of autonomy and beneficence through case studies and discussion.

This session is part of the “Ethics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” symposium.

The ethical principle of justice in health care—treating people fairly—seems to be a clear directive. However, it has been argued that health inequities arising from social determinants are unjust. This presentation will define and identify social determinants of health and discuss the concept in the context of the ethical principle of justice. Case studies illustrating the concept will be presented for the audience to discuss.

This session is part of the “Ethics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” symposium.

Interventions that are not likely to produce a medical benefit for the patient are referred to as futile. However, futility is not an easy concept to apply in real life. In this presentation, futility is defined, and the limitations of practical use identified. Case studies that illustrate the concept of futility and the challenges associated with application will be presented for the audience to discuss.

This session is part of the “Ethics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” symposium.

Providing respiratory care in the acute care environment continues to increase in complexity. In some cases, the respiratory therapist may find themselves in a situation where it is necessary to disengage. Some might argue that disengaging is equivalent to patient abandonment. This presentation will evaluate the ethical and practical implications of disengaging from toxic situations in health care through case evaluation and discussion.

This session is part of the “Ethics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” symposium.

Is the ABCDEF bundle a useful tool to promote quality outcomes, or just an alphabet soup? This presentation will cover the VAE prevention bundle elements and how the attendees might use them to improve patient outcomes.

This session is part of the “Ventilator-Associated Events” symposium.

This lecture will review the current literature regarding devices and techniques used during airway management that may affect VAE outcomes.

This session is part of the “Ventilator-Associated Events” symposium.

E-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (also known as EVALI) is a rapidly evolving lung health issue more commonly seen in adolescents and young adults. Respiratory therapists remain at the forefront of this health crisis. This presentation will discuss the current evidence associated with EVALI cause, diagnosis, and treatment.

Emergency endotracheal intubation is a high-risk, low-volume procedure frequently performed by respiratory therapists. Video laryngoscopy has emerged as a tool to improve patient safety during intubation. Available evidence has not demonstrated clear differences between video and direct laryngoscopy. This presentation from two experts on airway management will provide an evidence-based debate of whether video laryngoscopy should be the standard of care for endotracheal intubation.

Clinical manifestation and epidemiology of COVID-19 in children is different from that of adults. As evidence continues to evolve on this, we continue to learn more about the way COVID-19 affects children. This presentation will focus on trending epidemiology of COVID-19 in children, strategies for prevention, and concepts of transmission, including the impact of returning to school.

Here’s a quick, healthy salad for a great alternative to all of the holiday treats. Join Tina Sawyer, AARC Membership Customer Service Manager, for “Cooking with Tina.”

This talk will present a review of the literature covering incidents of disease exacerbation and impact on hospital admissions in those prescribed home oxygen therapy.

This session is part of the “Home Care O₂ Therapy” symposium.

This talk will include a patient’s experience using long-term oxygen who is active, travels with oxygen and has experienced the issues attendant with system selection, mobility in the community and travelling as an oxygen user.

This session is part of the “Home Care O₂ Therapy” symposium.

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) may occur in the caretakers of individuals who have experienced traumatic events or are suffering and, when severe, may be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a diagnostic level due to STS. For RTs, the incidence of STS and PTSD at a diagnostic level due to STS has not been examined. This lecture will discuss the topic of STS in RT and review recently published studies that exposes it presence in the profession.

This session is part of the “Feeling the Burn? Ideas for Dealing with Burnout” symposium.

This presentation is highly recommended for those looking to make changes in their current health and self-care regimen. We will cover unhealthy coping mechanisms that are often common in the respiratory community. We will discuss the effects of stress on our health and address the importance of supporting your peers in their efforts of gaining healthier habits. By bringing awareness and education to the subjects of mental and physical health, we are able to increase our overall wellness, minimize burnout and compassion fatigue, and not only improve our quality of life but also the care we give to our patients.

This session is part of the “Feeling the Burn? Ideas for Dealing with Burnout” symposium.

The child with critical and near-fatal asthma poses a significant challenge to the multidisciplinary critical care team. This presentation highlights the unique physiology involved in providing mechanical support to children with severe intrathoracic airway obstruction.

This session is part of the “Critical Management of Pediatric Asthma” symposium.

Asthma is a common reason for admission to the PICU. Standard therapies for status asthmaticus include continuous bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and intravenous magnesium. Refractory patients often require adjunctive therapies such as heliox, aminophylline, intravenous beta2 agonists, ketamine, high-flow nasal cannula, and noninvasive ventilation are controversial. This presentation will discuss the evidence for the use of adjunctive therapies in status asthmaticus.

This session is part of the “Critical Management of Pediatric Asthma” symposium.

This session explores realistic ways to reach potential students and increase the number of applicants. We need to band together to find ways to get the word out about a career in respiratory care. Most of our programs need more qualified applicants. This interactive lecture will share marketing strategies any program can adopt.

Researchers and clinicians present their findings in sessions grouped by topic. Authors briefly present their findings and engage in an open discussion with the moderators and attendees.

In many ways, distance education and telehealth are closely related. The best attributes from distance education can cross over into telehealth and give it a unique paradigm of which to base success in care delivery. This may be useful in disease management and a way to engage patients in their care.

The appropriateness of PEEP depends on the recruitment potential of the lung, however no randomized trials to date have assessed recruitment potential prior to assigning a PEEP strategy. This lecture will describe new methods to assess recruitment potential at the bedside.

This session is part of the “Considerations for Setting Positive End-Expiratory Pressure” symposium.

PEEP can affect the position of the diaphragm through increasing lung volume. Is the impact of PEEP on diaphragm function beneficial or potentially harmful? This lecture will discuss what is currently known about the relationship between PEEP and the diaphragm.

This session is part of the “Considerations for Setting Positive End-Expiratory Pressure” symposium.

The decision to increase PEEP is typically based on the patient’s oxygenation status. PEEP/FiO2 tables also guide PEEP increases based on oxygen requirements. However, does the oxygenation response to increasing PEEP have clinical meaning? This lecture will discuss the importance of oxygenation response (or lack of response) in the selection of PEEP.

This session is part of the “Considerations for Setting Positive End-Expiratory Pressure” symposium.

Have you been in a difficult situation with an employee and been unsure how to handle it? Have you had a “tough” conversation and questioned yourself? Being a consistent manager and leader is difficult…but does it have to be? Instituting a Just Culture gives you the tools and resources to be fair, just, and consistent while creating an atmosphere of shared accountability. You and your team will thank you for it.

This session is part of the “Discover the Leader Within YOU!” symposium.

Many new, passionate leaders are emerging in respiratory care. However, developing as a new leader, regardless of experience or skill, can be difficult, especially if you are creating changes in culture and workflows. This presentation will review some key strategies for all new leaders to help them build engaged teams, lead through transition and change, and effectively motivate their teams to success. Here are the hot tips for all emerging, young leaders!

This session is part of the “Discover the Leader Within YOU!” symposium.

Have you always secretly thought that you gained your present level of success just because you were in the right place at the right time? Are you worried that someday everyone will realize you really aren’t as accomplished as everyone thinks you are? You might be suffering from “Imposter Syndrome.” Let’s figure out what this syndrome is all about and actions you can take to stop those feelings of unworthiness.

This session is part of the “Discover the Leader Within YOU!” symposium.

The focus on COVID-19 treatment has been oxygen delivery and mechanical ventilation. A host of treatments from steroids to anti-malarial drugs have been tried with a range of successes. Are there treatments for preventing COVID-19 infection or preventing severe infection? Are there inhaled medications that can stave off hypoxemia and invasive ventilation? This talk will review the pharmacologic treatment success and failures for COVID-19 in the last 12 months.

This session is part of the “Year in Review: COVID-19” symposium.

Mass casualty respiratory failure stresses hospital capacity, availability of clinicians and required ventilation devices. One technique to alleviate crisis standards of care includes ventilator sharing. The use of one ventilator to ventilate multiple patients has previously been described and during the current pandemic reported by several investigators. Videos packed the internet of shared ventilation techniques, most without a thought to the safety in patients with altered respiratory mechanics. What systems have been developed, what are the important safety measures, and what has use in human subjects shown? This talk will review the data related to shared ventilation gathered in the last 12 months.

This session is part of the “Year in Review: COVID-19” symposium.

COVID-19 causes severe hypoxemia respiratory failure and requires invasive mechanical ventilation in the sickest patients. Data from China, Italy, and the U.S. (New York and Boston) demonstrate a wide range of treatments and outcomes. What is the real mortality rate in patients with COVID-19 requiring invasive ventilation? In the past 12 months, what does the data show regarding ventilation techniques, the use of PEEP and outcomes. This talk discusses data from the last 12 months regarding successes and failures with mechanical ventilation in COVID-19.

This session is part of the “Year in Review: COVID-19” symposium.

Illness shouldn’t mean stillness. Let’s PICU Up! Early mobility has been shown to improve outcomes in critically ill patients, so why don’t we do it more often? This presentation will review evidence on how mobility improves the care and outcomes for critically ill children and share key strategies for implementing an early mobility program at your institution.

As the learning needs and preferences of our students evolve, instructors continue to work to find innovative opportunities and strategies to engage students with both the content and one another. Carousel case studies are a cooperative learning strategy that requires students to make cohesive individual decisions toward a group goal. This discussion will investigate the advantages of team-based learning strategies aimed at building critical thinking ability on an individual level.

This presentation will address resources available to serve as a starting point for developing the objectives and framework for an IPE experience. The workshop will discuss using the Interprofessional Professional Education Collaboration Competencies of teams and teamwork, roles and responsibilities, ethics and values, and communication. The participants will develop objectives for their action plan during this session.

Palliative care is an often misunderstood, but vital component of care for chronically ill children. This presentation will discuss the importance of palliative care for the pediatric patient, including benefits of including the palliative care team early.

Optimal PEEP is needed to prevent alveolar collapse and atelectrauma while improving oxygenation. This presentation will review evidence and best practice for determining optimal PEEP in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients.

Respiratory care educators often neglect self-care. This presentation examines resistance to change among faculty who promote balance and well-being in students and colleagues. A major obstacle to self-care, our resistance, will be explored through evidence-based research and reflection on experience. The presenter will demonstrate practices, which have been integrated into teaching, service, research, faculty development programs, and daily life.