critical ventilation: on demand

Finally Understand the Ventilator- Before you’re alone with one again

When ICU is busy, RT isn’t immediately available, and the ventilator alarms start screaming- you’re expected to know what to do.

Learn how to set up, manage, and understand mechanical ventilation with confidence. This course gives clinicians a clear, structured approach to ventilation through real demonstrations, physiology-based teaching, and practical clinical reasoning.

By the end of this course, you will be able to safely initiate and manage mechanical ventilation, BiPAP, and high-flow nasal cannula for any patient you are responsible for.

$350 CAD- one time payment, 2-Year access

Get 20% off until december 31
Use code: vent20

Certified for 8 mainpro+ activity credits

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Why we made this course

We built this course because too many clinicians are put in impossible situations.

We’re handed a ventilator, a crashing patient, and an expectation to know what to do — yet most of us were never properly taught how mechanical ventilation actually works in a way that translates to real decisions on shift.

It doesn’t matter whether you work in a tertiary ICU or a small rural emergency department at two in the morning. Without a clear framework, the ventilator can feel like a black box. That gap in understanding leads to hesitation, stress, and unnecessary risk at the bedside.

This course was created to fix that.

Critical Ventilation: On Demand gives clinicians a structured, practical way to think about ventilation. It focuses on the principles, the mechanics, and the clinical reasoning needed to manage ventilated patients safely and confidently — not just memorized settings or isolated facts.

By the end of this course, you will be able to start any patient safely on mechanical ventilation, BiPAP, and high-flow nasal cannula.

It’s the kind of teaching we wish existed when we started: clear, relevant, and built for the realities of frontline medicine.

Our goal is simple — to make sure you never feel unprepared when you are the one standing at the bedside.

what this course helps prevent

  • Hesitation when a ventilated patient is actively deteriorating

  • Making ventilator changes you can’t clearly justify

  • Spending excessive time at the ventilator during busy shifts

  • Mental overload during high-acuity resuscitations

  • Repeated reassessment without a clear strategy

  • Ventilator management detracting from the rest of the department

This course is an investment in confidence, structure, and decision-making under pressure.

  • This program was designed for clinicians who are the first to manage critically ill or ventilated patients:

    • Emergency Physicians

    • Internal Medicine Physicians covering community or regional ICUs

    • Emergency and Critical Care Nurses involved in ventilator setup and resuscitation

    • Transport and Flight Physicians

    • Advanced Care Paramedics and critical-care transport teams

    Whether you work in a large tertiary center or a small community ED, this course gives you a consistent framework to manage the ventilator safely and effectively.


  • By the end of this course, you will be able to:

    • Set up and initiate ventilation on the Hamilton T1/C1 with skills that transfer to any ventilator

    • Understand the physiology and mechanics of ventilation, including compliance, resistance, and pressure–volume relationships

    • Explain how ventilator parameters affect oxygenation, ventilation, and lung protection

    • Choose and apply pressure control, volume control, and PRVC modes appropriately

    • Interpret ventilator waveforms and understand what they reveal about patient interaction

    • Adjust settings to address hypoxia, hypercapnia, and changes in lung compliance

    • Use non-invasive support such as BiPAP and High-Flow Nasal Cannula (Airvo 2) for acute respiratory failure

    • Apply evidence-based strategies for ARDS, COPD, and severe metabolic acidosis

    • Integrate ventilator management into resuscitation and transport workflows

    • Build confidence in mechanical ventilation through clear understanding and structured reasoning

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FEEDBACK FROM THE FRONTLINE

  • "This ventilator course has been fantastic for my learning as a rural ER doc, where I don’t use the vent very often. The concepts are explained clearly and practically, with excellent real-world examples that make decision-making much easier in those infrequent but high-stakes situations. I especially loved the videos — they’re engaging, easy to follow, and make reviewing key points simple. Overall, this course has really boosted my confidence and skills with ventilator management."

    Dr. Tamra Steinmann

  • "Wonderful course for rural ED physicians! Great videos and helpful demonstrations. Will certainly review this course periodically to keep knowledge up to date and recommend to colleagues”

    Dr. Kristin Johannessen

THE COURSE EXPERIENCE

9 online modules

6 to 8 hours

2-Year Access (including course updates)

Earn 8 certified mainpro+ activity credits

8 Chapters. 48 lessons.

Start and stop whenever you want

“Vent Logic” clips connecting vent function to core physiology

Downloadable setup & troubleshooting guides

Assigned readings from our Critical Ventilation Manual (© 2025)

Step-by-step videos filmed on real
equipment (Hamilton T1/C1 and Airvo2 HFNC)

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COURSE MODULES:

    • Introduction to Critical Ventilation: On Demand

    • Critical Ventilation Online: Foundations of Emergency & Transport Ventilation

    • Video on Ventilation Foundations

    • Quiz

    • Introduction (Video)

    • Circuit Setup (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Circuit Checks (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Securing the ET Tube (Video)

    • Circuit Setup: The Distal End (Video)

    • Suctioning (Video)

    • Video

    • Quiz

    • Introduction (Video)

    • Basic Ventilator Settings and Pressure Control (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: Initiating Pressure Control Ventilation

    • Case Quiz: Initiating Pressure Control Ventilation

    • Pressure Regulated Volume Control (PRVC) (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: Initiating Pressure Regulated Volume Control

    • Case Quiz: Initiating Pressure Regulated Volume Control

    • Video

    • Quiz

    • Introduction

    • BiPAP Setup (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: Initiating BiPAP

    • Case Quiz: Initiating BiPAP

    • HFNC (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: Initiating HFNC

    • Case Quiz: Initiating HFNC

    • Introduction

    • High Airway Resistance/Bronchospasm (Video)

    • MDI Administration (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: COPD Vent Initiation

    • Case Quiz: COPD Vent Initiation

    • Poor Lung Compliance/ARDS (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: ARDS

    • Case Quiz: ARDS

    • Severe Metabolic Acidosis (Video)

    • Quiz

    • Case: Metabolic Acidosis

    • Case Quiz: Metabolic Acidosis

The critical ventilation manual

Every participant receives access to the Dynamic Simulation SIM+ Critical Ventilation Manual (© 2025) through our secure online platform. The manual was written by Shawn Segeren, MD, CCFP(EM) and Jamie Shields, RRT, CCAA, and serves as the standardized reference for all SIM+ Critical Ventilation teaching.

The manual serves as the standardized framework for all Critical Ventilation teaching and provides:

Clear definitions and core concepts such as compliance, resistance, and driving pressure

The Dynamic Simulation 5-Step Framework — Confirm, Assess, Investigate, Intervene, Reassess — used to approach every ventilator alarm and issue in a structured, consistent way

Detailed condition-specific guidance for ARDS, COPD, and severe metabolic acidosis

Mode-by-mode setup tables for PRVC, PCV, and VC ventilation

Step-by-step troubleshooting algorithms for hypoxia, hypercapnia, auto-PEEP, and alarm conditions

Simplified waveform diagrams that link what you see on the screen to what’s happening in the lungs

The manual is designed as both a learning companion during the online course and a real-world reference that clinicians can access anytime to guide safe ventilator management at the bedside.

See how we teach ventilation

Here are two short previews that show how we teach both the practical skills and the core concepts behind ventilator management.

Suctioning tutorial

This clip demonstrates how to confirm airway patency and safely suction a ventilated patient. It walks through pre-oxygenation, catheter insertion, circuit stabilization, and the alarms you can expect during the maneuver.

This preview is taken from the ARDS walkthrough in Critical Ventilation: On-Demand.

You will see Jamie Shields, RRT, CCAA, work through a crashing patient on the ventilator with alarms going off and settings that no longer fit the lungs.

THE CRASHING ARDS PATIENT

READY TO manage your next vented patient with confidence?

All while earning cme credits.

Gain the knowledge and confidence to manage ventilation safely in any setting, and earn 8 Certified Mainpro+ Activity Credits.

Join clinicians across the world who have completed this online course and built a stronger understanding of the ventilator and its logic.

$350 CAD- one time payment, 2 year access

certified for 8 mainpro+ activity credits

GET 20% off until december 31

Use code: vent20

REGISTER NOW

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