The Association of Physician Assistants In Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery
Hands-on Courses
Catalog
The APACVS offers a variety of hands-on courses that are designed to teach core skills necessary for successful practice in the operating room and ICU. These courses are offered at our annual meeting and as stand alone training around the US. Descriptions of these courses can be found in this catalog. Check out our website for training dates and venues.
Table of Contents Page Cardiac Surgery First Assistant Course
3
Cardiac Surgical Unit Advanced Life Support Course
6
Critical Care Boot Camp
9
ECMO Course
11
Invasive Skills Course
13
Point of Care Ultrasound Course
14
Robotic First Assistant Course
16
Vascular Surgery First Assistant Course
18
Thoracoscopic First Assistant Course
20
Cardiac First Assistant Boot Camp About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive two day course uses realistic models, both inanimate and animal tissue, to teach core skills necessary to effectively practice as a first assistant in the cardiac surgery operating room.
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels, however the course is primarily designed for those new to the Cardiac Surgery OR
What you will learn: •
Participants will practice EVH Skills on multiple platforms in intimate Teacher/ Student ratios
•
Participants will practice vein preparation skills on multiple platforms in intimate teacher/ student ratios
•
Participants will review core principles of cardiopulmonary bypass
•
Participants will practice coronary proximal and distal anastomoses on a porcine heart models in intimate teacher/ student ratios
•
Participants will practice aortic valve implantation in a porcine heart model in intimate teacher/ student ratios
•
Participants will practice aortic Interposition grafting in a porcine heart model in intimate teacher/ student ratios
•
Participants will practice AFIB ablation on a porcine heart model in intimate teacher/ student ratios
Cardiac First Assistant Boot Camp CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 16 hours of Category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning Skills Assessment
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Cardiac First Assistant Boot Camp
Cardiac Surgical Unit Advanced Life Support Course About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive one day course uses a multimodal approval to teach the CSU-ALS protocol for resuscitation after cardiac surgery. The course emphasizes a novel approach to resuscitate cardiac surgery patients after arrest, reviews common causes of arrest as well as an algorithm to address unstable patients so as to reduce the rates of arrest, demonstrates appropriate surgical techniques for performing emergency resternotomy and reviews a team based approach to managing these arresting patients. Completion of this course earns you a certificate as a CSU-ALS Provider that expires in two years and can be renewed with a live course. This course was developed by Cardiac Advanced Resuscitation Education (CARE) and is offered at APACVS as part of a collaboration between APACVS and CARE .
CME/ CEUs: This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery, Critical Care
LEVEL
All experience levels, all disciplines
Cardiac Surgical Unit Advanced Life Support Course What you will learn: •
The evidence behind this protocol and why traditional arrest protocols are not the correct protocol for these patients
•
A review of common causes of instability and an algorithm designed to analytically approach the unstable patient
•
A comprehensive review of the epicardial pacemaker
•
The surgical techniques of resternotomy, internal massage and defibrillation
•
Key roles and responsibilities in the management of the arresting cardiac surgery patient
Cardiac Surgical Unit Advanced Life
Critical Care Boot Camp About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive one day course combines didactic and realistic simulation to teach core skills necessary to effectively practice in the cardiothoracic and vascular ICU. This course was developed by Cardiac Advanced Resuscitation Education (CARE) and is offered at APACVS as part of a collaboration between APACVS and CARE .
CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 9 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Critical Care
LEVEL
All experience levels
Critical Care Boot Camp What you will learn: •
•
Participants will receive a half day of didactic education focused on: •
Hemodynamic Monitoring
•
Overview of Cardiothoracic Cardiac Medications
•
Airway / Ventilator Management In Critically Ill Patients
•
Hematologic Management in ICU
•
Overview of Mechanical Support Devices
Students will participate in over 300 minutes of simulation exercises and breakout lectures on a variety of Cardiovascular and Thoracic care in the ICU. The following is a small sampling of the multiple topics covered during the simulation time: •
Approach to acute post-operative Pulmonary Embolism.
•
Aortic Dissection, approach to care and critical management.
•
Post-operative seizure
•
Post-operative paralysis
•
Persistent hypoxia on ECMO
•
LVAD complications and alarm management
ECMO Course About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive course teaches the latest techniques and technology to produce successful outcomes for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).
CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 8 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery, Critical Care, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels, all disciplines
ECMO Course What you will learn: •
Participants will receive a half day of didactic education focused on: •
History of ECMO
•
Cannulation Videos
•
VV ECMO
•
VA ECMO
•
ECMO Complications / Support
•
ECMO Cannulation Techniques
What you will learn: •
Participants will rotate through 300 minutes of simulation stations that will focus on the management of multiple concepts and skills in ECMO. A small sampling of the topics covered in simulation include: •
Cannulation approaches
•
ECMO Components
•
Management of pump Alarms
•
Emergency management (pump malfunctions, exsanguination, etc.)
•
Overview of multiple ECMO platforms
Invasive Skills Course About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive one day course permits attendees to receive leading-edge updates on best practices for ultrasound procedures as well as other common critical care procedures
CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery, Critical Care, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels, all disciplines
What you will learn: •
Ultrasound guided as central venous catheter insertion
•
Radial and Brachial Arterial line insertion
•
Chest Tube Thoracostomy
•
Thoracentesis
•
SWAN-GANZ Catheter insertion and maintenance
•
Hemodynamic principals with scenario based simulation
Point of Care Ultrasound Course About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive one day course combines didactic and practice on live models to gain the realistic training needed to perform and interpret adult ultrasound imaging. Attendees will have the opportunity to practice core ultrasound skills necessary to care for our patients in the ICU and OR. After lectures on core knowledge and skills, attendees will practice a host of US techniques on live models with intimate faculty/ student ratios. This is a one-day, intensive course designed to change the way its participants think about point-of-care-ultrasound. This course will take a turn from the traditional, systems based, model of teaching and will instead begin with the most commonly utilized protocol in emergency medicine, the eFAST exam, and build on it to gain a further and more comprehensive understanding of the RUSH and BLUE protocols.
CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Critical Care
LEVEL
All experience levels
Point of Care Ultrasound Course What you will learn: •
•
Participants will receive a half day of didactic education focused on: •
The Science Behind Ultrasound
•
BLUE Protocol
•
eFAST Protocol
•
Basic Thoracic US
•
RUSH Protocol
•
Basic Cardiac US
Participants will rotate through 180 minutes of simulation stations that will focus on practicing and demonstrating the US techniques and exams reviewed in the didactic portion of the course. Live models will be used and students will work in small groups.
Robotic First Assistant Course Robotic Bronchoscopy About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive one day course uses realistic models, both inanimate and animal tissue, to teach core skills necessary to effectively practice as a robotic first assistant in the thoracic surgery operating room.
CME/ CEUs This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Thoracic Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels, all disciplines
What you will learn: •
The essentials of bedside assisting with the Davinci robotic system
•
Identification of robot components, docking robot, instrument exchange
•
Robotic Stapler review and problem shooting. Review of robotic instrumentation
•
Review of critical airway anatomy and its role for planning a successful bronchoscopy case.
Robotic First Assistant Course/ Robotic Bronchoscopy What you will learn: •
Participants will learn how to plan a robotic bronchoscopy case using Ion software. The participant will also learn how to prepare the patient in the OR including patient positioning, endotracheal tube preparation and basic anesthesia considerations.
•
Participants will perform a simulated robotic bronchoscopy procedure on synthetic airway model.
Vascular First Assistant Boot Camp About this course: Led by highly skilled multi-professional faculty, this comprehensive two day course uses realistic models, both inanimate and animal tissue, to teach core skills necessary to effectively practice as a first assistant in the vascular surgery operating room.
CME/ CEUs: This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Cardiac Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels, however the course is primarily designed for those new to the Vascular Surgery OR
What you will learn: •
Carotid Endarterectomy, Patch Angioplasty
•
Open AAA Repair
•
Femoral - Popliteal Bypass
•
AV Anastomosis
•
EVAR —sizing and simulation
•
Mentice, TCAR
Vascular First Assistant Boot Camp
Thoracoscopic First Assistant Course About this course: The Thoracoscopic First Assist Course has been designed to provide an opportunity for physician assistants who assist in thoracoscopic procedures to immerse themselves in valuable information taught by thought leaders and surgeons on the forefront of thoracoscopic innovation. The course is designed to present a graduated level of instruction from instrumentation and equipment specific to thoracoscopic lobectomy to camera piloting techniques to error detection to assisting on a thoracoscopic lobectomy simulator. The course provides a guided , hands-on experience, utilizing fresh tissue for heart, lung and mediastinal simulation to give attendees the practical knowledge to master the following skills.
CME/ CEUs: This course is typically accredited for 7 hours of category 1 CME/ CEUs
Course Format: Hands-on Learning
Interactive Q&A
Small Groups
Skills Assessment
Who should attend: SPECIALTIES
Thoracic Surgery
LEVEL
All experience levels
Thoracoscopic First Assistant Course What you will learn: •
•
Participants will receive didactic education focused on: •
Operative considerations including:
•
Equipment
•
Instrumentation
•
Proper stapler selection
•
Patient positioning
•
OR set up
•
Video based descriptions and demonstration of intraoperative assisting techniques including: •
Camera Piloting
•
Communication
•
Retraction
•
Exposure
Wet lab segment of course to include stations for: •
Equipment and instrument assembly and troubleshooting
•
Camera piloting exercises
•
Retraction, instrument and stapler selection
•
Practicing thoracoscopic maneuvers
•
Assisting a master surgeon through a VATS lobectomy
•
Error detection
Thoracoscopic First Assistant Course