Ateneo - UPO

The integrated course provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of emergency medicine, anesthesia and intensive care, enabling students to recognize critically ill patients and manage the most common time-dependent clinical conditions.

Topics include:

Basic and Advanced Life Support (BLS and ALS)
Airway management
Hemodynamic, respiratory and neurological monitoring
Oxygen therapy and invasive/non-invasive ventilation
Trauma and polytrauma management
Shock and respiratory failure
Cardiovascular and neurological emergencies
Sepsis and infection prevention in critically ill patients
Principles of general and regional anesthesia
Procedural sedation and perioperative management
Acute and chronic pain management
Ethical, communication and organizational aspects of critical care
Patient safety and Human Factors

SEE the singular corses

The course aims to provide students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to manage major emergency conditions, understand the principles of anesthesia and intensive care, and develop sound clinical reasoning focused on patient safety.

Particular emphasis will be placed on integrating pathophysiological knowledge, clinical decision-making, multidisciplinary teamwork, effective communication and high-fidelity simulation.

Students should possess a solid background in physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, anatomy and internal medicine, together with the ability to integrate knowledge from different clinical disciplines.

Teaching methods include lectures, interactive learning sessions, case-based discussions, high-fidelity simulation, practical workshops on emergency and anesthesia procedures, and clinical activities in Intensive Care Units and Operating Rooms.

Simulation activities will be followed by structured debriefing sessions aimed at developing both technical and non-technical skills, including Human Factors, leadership, teamwork and communication.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services- students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Final exam consisting of a multiple-choice quiz on the DIR platform. For each question, there is one correct answer and three incorrect ones. Time limit: 2 hours (80 questions in total: 40 on emergencies, 40 on anesthesia and resuscitation).

Organization of pre-hospital and in-hospital Emergency Medical Services.
Systematic assessment of the critically ill patient using the ABCDE approach.
Emergency activation systems and triage principles.
Basic Life Support (BLS) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use.
Advanced Life Support (ALS) and cardiac arrest management.
Airway management: ventilation techniques, supraglottic airway devices, laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation.
Oxygen therapy, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation.
Monitoring of critically ill patients: hemodynamic, respiratory, neurological and metabolic monitoring.
Assessment and management of acute respiratory failure.
Management of major cardiovascular emergencies: acute coronary syndromes, arrhythmias, acute pulmonary edema and hypertensive emergencies.
Diagnosis and treatment of shock: hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive and obstructive shock.
Trauma and polytrauma management according to ATLS principles.
Neurological emergencies: altered consciousness, coma, seizures and clinical aspects of brain death.
Sepsis, septic shock and prevention of healthcare-associated infections.
Toxicological emergencies: acute poisoning, drug overdose and substance abuse.
Environmental emergencies: drowning, burns, electrical injuries, hypothermia, heat stroke and hyperthermic syndromes.
Principles of general and regional anesthesia.
Pharmacology of anesthetic, sedative, analgesic and emergency drugs.
Perioperative patient management and pre-anesthetic risk assessment.
Acute, chronic and postoperative pain management.
Principles of intensive care medicine: organ support, sedation, analgesia and management of mechanically ventilated patients.
Communication during emergencies, Human Factors, Crisis Resource Management and patient safety.
High-fidelity simulation for developing technical and non-technical skills.

At the end of the course students will be able to:

recognize critically ill patients;
apply BLS and ALS protocols;
manage major respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological emergencies;
use basic monitoring systems appropriately;
understand the indications for anesthetic and ventilatory techniques;
work effectively within multidisciplinary teams;
apply the principles of patient safety, effective communication and Human Factors.