Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Education Videos

Burnout is a growing occupational health issue that impacts nearly half of all pediatricians, causing wide-ranging effects from medical errors to staff turnover and even depression or suicidal ideation. The implications of burnout aren’t just personal; they ripple throughout the entire healthcare system, from increased patient mortality rates to detrimental mental health effects on providers. 

In this video, Heather Hoch De Keyser, MD, director of wellbeing at Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Breathing Institute, delves into the three dimensions of burnout as classified by the World Health Organization and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. She also explores evidence-based solutions for providers and institutions to combat burnout. From personal shifts in mindset, like adopting gratitude practices and mindfulness, to system-wide changes, like improving work-life balance, there are tangible solutions for preventing burnout in healthcare.

Oscillometry is a simple way to quickly measure lung function in pediatric patients and to better understand how well respiratory treatments are working. Through regular breathing, oscillometry provides measures of resistance to airflow and lung compliance.

In this video, Kate Hamlington Smith, PhD, shares a detailed overview for obtaining oscillometry measurements, including the resistance and reactance components of impedance over time.

Asthma is the most common chronic disorder of childhood –– impacting 7 to 12% of children. While most children’s symptoms can be effectively managed by guideline-based therapies, 5% of children with asthma have problematic severe, persistent asthma despite maximal conventional therapy. Any child who cannot achieve control with a medium-dose inhaled corticosteroid plus a long-acting beta-agonist is considered to have problematic severe, persistent asthma.

In this video, Mark Brown, MD, William Anderson III, MD, and Operations Coordinator Meghan Camacho explain pediatric asthma care plans and the three steps for managing severe asthma –– identification, evaluation and adherence. 

Sleep difficulties are very common in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders with an estimated prevalence of 50% to 80%. This is important because disrupted sleep is associated with a number of daytime symptoms as well as parental sleep disruption and stress.

In this video, pediatric sleep specialist and child neurologist, Pinar Polat, MD, discusses the most common causes of sleep difficulties in children with autism and our multidisciplinary approach to treatment in the Collaborative Opportunities to Maximize Effective Treatment of Sleep (COMETS) Clinic at Children’s Colorado.

Neuromuscular disease is a heterogenous group of disorders that causes muscle weakness or dysfunction. Because muscle weakness profoundly affects pulmonary function and pulmonary care is complex, it is essential that a dedicated pulmonary team takes care of patients with neuromuscular disease.

In this video, our Inpatient Medical Director of the Breathing Institute, Oren Kupfer, MD, discusses the various components of pulmonary care that the Neuromuscular Clinic at Children’s Colorado provides to kids and young adults with neuromuscular weakness. Dr. Kupfer reviews the goals of pulmonary care, which include reducing work of breathing, improving sleep quality, reducing illness and hospitalization, facilitating care at home, having a plan and being prepared. He also shares the medical approach that makes the Neuromuscular Clinic unique, such as interdisciplinary care, programmatic care and hospital-wide partnerships.

Esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula: respiratory complications and multidisciplinary care

Esophageal atresia, or EA, is a rare birth defect in which a baby’s esophagus is not fully formed and does not connect the mouth to the stomach. Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is an abnormal connection between the esophagus and the trachea. A TEF often occurs in babies with EA so the condition is referred to as EA/TEF. EA/TEF is usually repaired shortly after birth, but even after surgery, the tissue of the trachea and esophagus are often not normal. This can cause long-term gastrointestinal, respiratory and feeding/swallowing problems.

In this video, Emily DeBoer, MD, reviews recommendations to guide management of the respiratory complications of EA/TEF. This includes tracheomalacia, the primary abnormality that predisposes children to respiratory complications. She also describes the multidisciplinary aerodigestive care provided by experts within the Aerodigestive Program.

Current cystic fibrosis research continues to improve survival rates

Cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment has evolved drastically in the past half-century. Children with CF frequently died before reaching 5-years-old in the 1940s and 1950s, and now they regularly live into adulthood. In the following video, Scott Sagel, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist and Director of the Mike McMorris Cystic Fibrosis Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado, discusses the major medical advancements that have led to this increased life expectancy. These advancements include diagnostic tests, treatments, a CF care center network and more. Dr. Sagel also discusses ongoing research that can help advance care even further.

Chronic ventilation in neonates

The approach to chronic ventilation in neonates is very different than the approach to acute ventilation in several important ways. Providers must address many aspects of care, beginning with identifying the need for chronic ventilation and ensuring that an infant meets the weight requirements for tracheostomy placement. Surgical recovery, reaching respiratory stability and transitioning to a home ventilator all pose unique challenges. Our Ventilator Care Program consists of a multidisciplinary care team that specializes in caring for neonates and providing the critical education and support parents need to care for their children at home.

In this video, Christopher Baker, MD, Medical Director of the Ventilator Care Program in our Breathing Institute, discusses our approach to placing neonates with chronic respiratory failure on chronic ventilation. 

Motivational interviewing for smoking cessation: an approach for pediatric providers

Changing behavior is hard. When it comes to unhealthy habits, it is even more difficult, even though there may be good reasons to change. Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based intervention that addresses behavior change and the ambivalence and resistance that often occur when asked to change habits. 

Pediatricians and medical providers play a critical role in helping families to make choices that improve child health and wellbeing. We know that pediatric providers have very little time to attend extensive training on new techniques. So, our team of pediatric providers and psychologists created a brief video to support medical staff when working with parents and family members to reduce secondhand smoke exposure for children across Colorado.