Hyperbaric Chamber Training Courses Available

By Janine Hughes


Recompression chambers were associated with diving operations until fairly recently. It was only in the early 1960s that research showed the benefits to certain patients of breathing in pure oxygen at pressures greater than normal atmospheric pressure. It was found that this treatment helped new blood vessels to grow and body tissue and organs received more oxygen, thus promoting the healing process. Today a number of hyperbaric chamber training courses exist for health care professionals who want to be involved with this type of treatment.

These chambers are now found at many medical centers. Some of them are suitable for treating a single patient whereas others can accommodate many patients at the same time. Oxygen is delivered individually to each person in the unit. Members of the team administering the treatment can move in and out of the chamber due to independent compartments that compress and decompress.

So many different problems have been discovered to benefit from this treatment. It is often used together with other medical and surgical treatments, particularly when they have not been that successful. Wounds that do not heal, thermal burns and crush injuries are just some of the conditions that respond well to treatment. A trained physician determines the safest dose and amount of time necessary to treat each condition.

Various courses are available for health care professionals who want learn more about this therapy. Some are basic and others more advanced. When choosing a course, the most important factor to consider is accreditation. It is important to establish the credentials of those who were involved in formulating the course. Other factors to bear in mind are cost, length and the method of teaching used.

Many health care professionals choose to update their skills with online courses today. The online courses offered are often excellent quality and the most up-to-date information and tools are available. Online forums and discussion groups put students in touch with one another. Plenty of help is usually available from instructors too.

The basics covered in such courses are aspects such as operations of chambers, oxygen toxicity, side effects and contraindications. Every aspect of patient care should be covered. It is not enough to just know the theoretical side as the practical aspects are very important. Both should be covered and knowledge should be reinforced with the use of slides, videos and other learning tools.

The length of such courses varies according to the amount of content covered and the experience level of the students. For example, some are specifically designed for those with prior knowledge. Courses may be specifically geared towards physicians, technologists, nurses, respiratory therapists and allied health care professionals. Most of these courses offer some kind of certification once a course is completed.

This type of treatment is proving to be successful, particularly when other methods of treatment are failing. Treatment protocols are being established and more physicians are now trained to prescribe a particular protocol to treat a specific problem. The team then administers the dosage strictly according to this protocol. This therapy needs to be administered with care to avoid toxic side effects and in the hands of a trained team therapy is safe and effective.




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