Bag Valve Mask Ventilation (Foundations)

You are at the bedside when your patient’s breathing starts to fade. Someone hands you the bag and says, "start bagging." Your hands are on the mask, the chest is barely moving, and the room is waiting for you to make it work. Bagging a patient may look simple, but there’s a lot of technique that goes into performing it well. A poor seal, the wrong squeeze, or a few moments of hesitation can mean the difference between air reaching the lungs and air going nowhere. Most providers learn it in passing and never get the chance to build real confidence with it, until the moment they need it most. This course gives you that confidence. You will understand what is actually happening when you squeeze the bag, how to get a seal that holds, how hard and how fast to ventilate, and how to recognize the patient who needs your help before things get worse. You’ll know what to do when the chest won’t rise, and you’ll know exactly when to call for more hands. By the end, bagging won’t be something you hope goes well. It will be something you know how to do. Not sure which BVM course is right for you? Foundations is built for providers outside critical care: medical-surgical and acute care nursing, LPNs, nursing students, EMRs, and PCAs. If you are a paramedic, a critical care or emergency nurse, a respiratory therapist, or a physician, our BVM Advanced course goes deeper into physiology, respiratory mechanics and complex ventilation, and may be a better fit.