Increase Your Blood Gas Clinical Knowledge
Siemens is committed to the continuing education needs of every member of your POC and laboratory staff.
Are you a respiratory therapist who wants to keep abreast of key trends in disease state management? Are you a central lab technician who would like to better understand the clinical applications of a diagnostic test? Are you part of a healthcare team working at the point of care that needs to master RAPIDLab® or RAPIDPoint® instrument operation and testing protocols to maintain your competency certification? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
These web pages showcase educational materials that will interest the many healthcare professionals who have a role in blood gas testing.
What is PEP?
Siemens Personalized Education Plan (PEP)* is a technologically advanced, virtual, competency-based education and training solution that focuses on increasing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of each individual user—ultimately reducing the time to achieve job competency. Through this customizable approach, individual learners can plan, achieve, and maintain proficiency standards, directly from their desktops and at their convenience.
What is PEP Administrator?
As an optional, seamless addition to PEP, PEP Administrator† helps to streamline every aspect of staff competency management and administration—meeting compliance needs and saving time by simplifying the entire process. PEP Administrator provides the visibility, access, and management tools for quality and compliance verification throughout your entire organization—all with the same ease and simplicity your staff experiences with PEP.
Siemens is dedicated to providing unparalleled, personalized education, training, and management solutions, as part of our Customer Care program, to help our customers excel. We encourage you to visit our top level Education and Training page to learn more about all of the classroom, on-site, and online learning opportunities offered by Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.
Instrument Training
Learn how to operate and perform tasks associated with a specific RAPIDPoint® blood gas analyzer — from instrument set-up, to sample processing, to routing procedures like calibration and quality control. Choose individual modules based upon your job role and responsibilities.
RAPIDPoint 300 Blood Gas Systems
Course Description: In this training you will learn about key components and features of the RAPIDPoint 300 systems, which include the RAPIDPoint 350 and RAPIDPoint 340 blood gas analyzers. You will also learn how the RAPIDPoint 300 systems measure blood gasses and the clinical significance of test results.
System Overview Competency: Locate major modules and key components, determine their function, trace the fluid path, and identify the technologies of measured tests to provide the foundation to successfully operate the RAPIDPoint 350 and 340 blood gas analyzers.
Daily Setup & Sample Processing Competency: Analyze patient samples in syringe and capillary modes, review patient analysis results, and perform daily cleaning to clean the sample fluid path on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.
Calibration and QC Competency: Access items displayed in software menus, differentiate between 1-point and 2-point automatic calibrations, analyze QC samples and review data on calibration and QC reports on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.
Customization Competency: Access options in the Second menu to perform diagnostic tests to test the accuracy of your instrument, review and print stored patient, QC and calibration data, and select settings that customize your RAPIDPoint 300 system to suit the needs of your workspace.
Troubleshooting Competency: Use the Diagnostics menu to identify and locate system malfunctions in the sensor, valve and reagent modules, and troubleshoot electrode and reagent problems on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.
RAPIDPoint 400/405 Blood Gas Systems
Course Description: The RAPIDPoint 400/405 analyzers are intended for near-patient and laboratory testing of blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites, nBili, total hemoglobin, and hemoglobin derivatives in arterial, venous, and capillary whole blood samples.
Hardware Overview Competency: Locate major system components and determine their function as foundation to setup and operate the analyzer.
Software Overview Competency: Navigate Top Level screens for analyzing samples, recalling system data, recalling system status and accessing Help. Use system buttons and icons to operate the analyzer.
Sample Processing Competency: Perform preanalytical sample handling. Analyze blood gas samples. Evaluate sample results. Recall and edit sample data.
Calibration Competency: Distinguish between 1 point, 2 point and full calibration. Initiate a manual calibration. Use STAT button to interrupt calibration. Review calibration data to ensure accurate patient results.
Quality Control Competency: Run Automatic QC. Run Manual QC. Evaluate QC results. Resolve QC errors.
Routine Procedures Competency: Replace consumable cartridges, sample port, printer paper, and air filter. Clean and disinfect touchscreen and exterior surfaces.
RAPIDPoint 500 Blood Gas Systems
Course Description: The RAPIDPoint 500 analyzers are intended for near-patient and laboratory testing of blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites, nBili, total hemoglobin, and hemoglobin derivatives in arterial, venous, and capillary whole blood samples.
Hardware Overview Competency: Locate major system components and determine their function as foundation to setup and operate the analyzer.
Software Overview Competency: Navigate Top Level screens for analyzing samples, recalling system data, recalling system status and accessing Help. Use system buttons and icons to operate the analyzer.
Sample Processing Competency: Perform preanalytical sample handling. Analyze blood gas samples. Evaluate sample results. Recall and edit sample data.
Calibration Competency: Distinguish between 1 point, 2 point and full calibration. Initiate a manual calibration. Use STAT button to interrupt calibration. Review calibration data to ensure accurate patient results.
Quality Control Competency: Run Automatic QC. Run Manual QC. Evaluate QC results. Resolve QC errors.
Routine Procedures Competency: Replace consumable cartridges, sample port, printer paper, and air filter. Clean and disinfect touchscreen and exterior surfaces.
Clinical Applications Training
Diagnostic testing plays an important role in the identification, confirmation, and/or management of disease in both chronic and acute care environments. To help you fully leverage the value of our instruments, the following clinical applications courses examine the relationship between key RAPIDPoint® test parameters and the underlying health conditions and treatment protocols.
Measuring pH Levels in Pleural Fluids
Summary: Pleural effusion is an abnormal collection of fluid in the pleural space resulting from excess fluid production or decreased absorption. It is the most common manifestation of pleural disease, with causes ranging from cardiopulmonary disorders to symptomatic inflammatory or malignant diseases requiring urgent evaluation and treatment. Approximately 1.5 million pleural effusions are diagnosed in the United States each year.
Pleural fluid analysis can help clinical decisions for pleural effusions in over 90 percent of patients. Parapneumonic effusions, which can result from pneumonia, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis have the highest diagnostic priority. Even with antibiotic therapy, infected pleural effusions can rapidly form fibrous peels that may require surgical intervention. Indications for urgent drainage of parapneumonic effusions include (1) frankly purulent fluid, (2) a pleural fluid pH of less than 7.2, (3) loculated effusions, and (4) bacteria on Gram stain or culture.
Analysis of exudative pleural fluid for laboratories can be a challenging task, as diagnostic assay manufacturers do not often have validated protocols for the body fluids, including pleural fluid. Often times, utilization of these analytes on pleural fluid may require additional laboratory validation activity and documentation in order to remain compliant in reporting patient results.
