nextgen learning designed to elevate your airway practice
Start Course
Ready to roll? Scroll down to dive in. Once you’ve finished, you’ll be guided to the next poster, with fresh digital content and hands-on training to level up your skills. Mastery of the hyperangulated video laryngoscope is just ahead—let’s get after it.
Learning Objectives
The Core Essentials
What is a tracheostomy?
A tracheotomy is a surgical procedure that creates a direct airway into the trachea by making a surgical opening in the front of the neck. A tracheostomy can be life-saving for patients who need long-term ventilation, upper airway bypass, or secretion management, but it also changes the normal rules of airway care. The tracheostomy tube facilitates breathing by providing an alternative airway route that bypasses the upper airway, including the nose and mouth.
Why It Matters
Whether you’re in the ED, ICU, OR, or on the wards, you will encounter patients with tracheostomies, and when things go wrong, there’s no time to Google. That’s why getting familiar with trach anatomy, the equipment, and how to respond to trach emergencies isn’t just helpful — it’s essential.
Some Numbers
Why is this learning space relevant? Let’s share a few numbers with you. If you work in an emergency department, hospital, or pre-hospital setting, chances are you will see a catastrophic event related to trachs. Here’s why. (US Data).
🎧 Deep Cuts
You’ve got the basics down—great work! To keep learning, head to the next poster. Want to go deeper? Click Continue the Journey for extra clinical pearls, evidence reviews, and curated links to expand your learning network—or bookmark it and return anytime.
Click Here for Deeper Cuts
🎸 Great! Welcome to the Deeper Cuts for this Topic
Another great way to review this material
Because no one-size-fits-all. If you want to sit back and listen on your commute or while multitasking, this video is for you. And if you find it helpful, subscribing to our YouTube channel is a simple way to support our work and help us continue to create new content.
Why read Chapter 15?
If you take care of patients with tracheostomies, this chapter is non-negotiable. NAP4’s deep dive into tracheostomy disasters shows how minor problems become lethal when teams lack a plan, miss displacement, or fail to recognize tube obstruction early. It’s a brutal but honest look at real-world failures: dislodgement during turns, misplaced tubes, missing equipment, delayed help, and the deadly absence of capnography. The cases are raw, the lessons are clear, and the recommendations are practical. Read the original — your future patient might depend on it.
Bottom Line
Tracheostomies are common, high-risk, and unforgiving when mismanaged. Learn the anatomy, familiarize yourself with a tracheostomy tube, and be prepared to respond to common emergencies associated with a tracheostomy. Your confidence in what you learn here could save a life.
What’s Next
Find Or Click Me
Nice work—you’re through this section! To keep going, scan the QR code on the physical poster at the next station in our pop-up training space to access the next set of digital content. Prefer to stay online? Just click the poster image here to continue your journey.
You must be logged in to post a comment.