Things They Do Not Teach In Medical School

There is an old adage that respiratory therapy is beyond the scope of a physician's knowledge. This is no knock on doctors, as they have so many other things to focus on. Likewise, it was the famous Dr. Egan who first said this in the first edition of his book.

That said, here are some things they do not teach doctors in medical school:

1. That a patient who is not mentally alert cannot do an Acapella.
2. That a trached patient cannot do an Acapella.
3. That Pulmicort is the same type of medicine as Solumedrol. If a patient is on Solumedrol, they do not need to continue taking their Pulmicort.
4. That the purpose of medicines like Symbicort is to prevent the need for medicines like Duoneb and Ventolin. They do not need to be ordered together.
5. That STAT means "hurry up and get here to save the life of the patient," not "so I can get something done quicker so I can go home."
6. That Ipratropium bromide in the medicine Duoneb is the same type of medicine as Spiriva. They should not be ordered together. This is a duplicate order.
7. That BiPAP does not push fluid out of the lungs. What it does do is reduce venous return to your heart, reducing the amount of work your heart has to do to pump blood through your body.
8. That not all wheezes are caused by asthma.
9. That if you can hear the wheeze audibly, there is no way possible it could be bronchospasm.
10. That the treatment for low saturations is oxygen, not bronchodilator therapy.
11. That Ventolin will not cure all annoying lung sounds.
12. That patients on a ventilator do not automatically need breathing treatments (Ditto for BiPAP and high-flow nasal cannula. Also ditto for trached patients, cerebral palsy patients, etc.)."