Increase your blood gas clinical knowledge with educational programsSiemens is committed to the continuing education needs of every member of your POC and laboratory staff.

Are you a respiratory therapist who wants to keep abreast of key trends in disease state management? Are you a central lab technician who would like to better understand the clinical applications of a diagnostic test? Are you part of a healthcare team working at the point of care that needs to master RAPIDLab® or RAPIDPoint® instrument operation and testing protocols to maintain your competency certification? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

These web pages showcase educational materials that will interest the many healthcare professionals who have a role in blood gas testing.


Siemens Personalized Education Plan (PEP)* is a technologically advanced, virtual, competency-based education and training solution that focuses on increasing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of each individual user—ultimately reducing the time to achieve job competency. Through this customizable approach, individual learners can plan, achieve, and maintain proficiency standards, directly from their desktops and at their convenience.


As an optional, seamless addition to PEP, PEP Administrator helps to streamline every aspect of staff competency management and administration—meeting compliance needs and saving time by simplifying the entire process. PEP Administrator provides the visibility, access, and management tools for quality and compliance verification throughout your entire organization—all with the same ease and simplicity your staff experiences with PEP.

Siemens is dedicated to providing unparalleled, personalized education, training, and management solutions, as part of our Customer Care program, to help our customers excel. We encourage you to visit our top level Education and Training page to learn more about all of the classroom, on-site, and online learning opportunities offered by Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

Instrument Training

Learn how to operate and perform tasks associated with a specific RAPIDPoint® blood gas analyzer -- from instrument set-up, to sample processing, to routing procedures like calibration and quality control. Choose individual modules based upon your job role and responsibilities. Log-in or register for a PEP* account now.


Course Description: In this training you will learn about key components and features of the RAPIDPoint 300 systems, which include the RAPIDPoint 350 and RAPIDPoint 340 blood gas analyzers. You will also learn how the RAPIDPoint 300 systems measure blood gasses and the clinical significance of test results.

System Overview Competency: Locate major modules and key components, determine their function, trace the fluid path, and identify the technologies of measured tests to provide the foundation to successfully operate the RAPIDPoint 350 and 340 blood gas analyzers.

Daily Setup & Sample Processing Competency: Analyze patient samples in syringe and capillary modes, review patient analysis results, and perform daily cleaning to clean the sample fluid path on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.

Calibration and QC Competency: Access items displayed in software menus, differentiate between 1-point and 2-point automatic calibrations, analyze QC samples and review data on calibration and QC reports on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.

Customization Competency: Access options in the Second menu to perform diagnostic tests to test the accuracy of your instrument, review and print stored patient, QC and calibration data, and select settings that customize your RAPIDPoint 300 system to suit the needs of your workspace.

Troubleshooting Competency: Use the Diagnostics menu to identify and locate system malfunctions in the sensor, valve and reagent modules, and troubleshoot electrode and reagent problems on the RAPIDPoint 300 systems.


Course Description: The RAPIDPoint 400/405 analyzers are intended for near-patient and laboratory testing of blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites, nBili, total hemoglobin, and hemoglobin derivatives in arterial, venous, and capillary whole blood samples.

Hardware Overview Competency: Locate major system components and determine their function as foundation to setup and operate the analyzer.

Software Overview Competency: Navigate Top Level screens for analyzing samples, recalling system data, recalling system status and accessing Help. Use system buttons and icons to operate the analyzer.

Sample Processing Competency: Perform preanalytical sample handling. Analyze blood gas samples. Evaluate sample results. Recall and edit sample data.

Calibration Competency: Distinguish between 1 point, 2 point and full calibration. Initiate a manual calibration. Use STAT button to interrupt calibration. Review calibration data to ensure accurate patient results.

Quality Control Competency: Run Automatic QC. Run Manual QC. Evaluate QC results. Resolve QC errors.

Routine Procedures Competency: Replace consumable cartridges, sample port, printer paper, and air filter. Clean and disinfect touchscreen and exterior surfaces.


Course Description: The RAPIDPoint 500 analyzers are intended for near-patient and laboratory testing of blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites, nBili, total hemoglobin, and hemoglobin derivatives in arterial, venous, and capillary whole blood samples.

Hardware Overview Competency: Locate major system components and determine their function as foundation to setup and operate the analyzer.

Software Overview Competency: Navigate Top Level screens for analyzing samples, recalling system data, recalling system status and accessing Help. Use system buttons and icons to operate the analyzer.

Sample Processing Competency: Perform preanalytical sample handling. Analyze blood gas samples. Evaluate sample results. Recall and edit sample data.

Calibration Competency: Distinguish between 1 point, 2 point and full calibration. Initiate a manual calibration. Use STAT button to interrupt calibration. Review calibration data to ensure accurate patient results.

Quality Control Competency: Run Automatic QC. Run Manual QC. Evaluate QC results. Resolve QC errors.

Routine Procedures Competency: Replace consumable cartridges, sample port, printer paper, and air filter. Clean and disinfect touchscreen and exterior surfaces.


Instrument-specific PEP courses can supplement one-to-one training or help to verify learning. They also provide a means of competency documentation for regulatory compliance. Organizations may use PEP courses to standardize training regimens to improve proficiency. Users can initiate and participate in training prior to a new instrument’s arrival and will have unlimited access to online courses on an on-going basis. If one or more of the courses above interest you, click below to:

Clinical Applications Training

Diagnostic testing plays an important role in the identification, confirmation, and/or management of disease in both chronic and acute care environments. To help you fully leverage the value of our instruments, the following clinical applications courses examine the relationship between key RAPIDPoint® test parameters and the underlying health conditions and treatment protocols. Log-in or Register for a PEP* account now.

Summary: Pleural effusion is an abnormal collection of fluid in the pleural space resulting from excess fluid production or decreased absorption. It is the most common manifestation of pleural disease, with causes ranging from cardiopulmonary disorders to symptomatic inflammatory or malignant diseases requiring urgent evaluation and treatment. Approximately 1.5 million pleural effusions are diagnosed in the United States each year.

Pleural fluid analysis can help clinical decisions for pleural effusions in over 90 percent of patients. Parapneumonic effusions, which can result from pneumonia, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis have the highest diagnostic priority. Even with antibiotic therapy, infected pleural effusions can rapidly form fibrous peels that may require surgical intervention. Indications for urgent drainage of parapneumonic effusions include (1) frankly purulent fluid, (2) a pleural fluid pH of less than 7.2, (3) loculated effusions, and (4) bacteria on Gram stain or culture.

Analysis of exudative pleural fluid for laboratories can be a challenging task, as diagnostic assay manufacturers do not often have validated protocols for the body fluids, including pleural fluid. Often times, utilization of these analytes on pleural fluid may require additional laboratory validation activity and documentation in order to remain compliant in reporting patient results.


Clinical application courses are designed to support life-long learning by helping clinicians to stay up-to-date with advances in diagnostic testing. CEU-credits may also be available to satisfy continuing education requirements placed on healthcare professionals. If learning at your own pace with the convenience of unlimited, desktop access to online courses is of interest to you, click below to:
 

General Lab Training

The Siemens PEP* library focuses on topics of interest to all lab personnel and includes clinical primers designed to provide a foundation for lab and/or point-of-care personnel. The following courses are designed specifically for individuals who are new to blood gas testing. Log-in or register for a PEP account now.


In life-threatening situations, physicians need to be able to quickly assess a patient’s vital signs. Blood gas analysis is a key component of emergency diagnostic procedures because it allows physicians to quickly assess the patient’s acid-base metabolism and oxygen status.

In this course, the basic principles of acid-base metabolism and oxygen status are defined, as are the key parameters in a blood gas analysis that are used to assess them. The importance of evaluating electrolytes and metabolic functions during critical situations is explained. The tests used by physicians to evaluate these areas are identified.

Total Credits: 1
Approximate hours to complete: 1


Key components of emergency diagnostic procedures include tests that allow physicians to evaluate a patient’s acid-base metabolism, oxygen status, electrolyte and metabolic functions. In this course, the clinical significance of these measures, and the tests used to assess them, will be explained.

Total Credits: 0.5
Approximate hours to complete: 0.5


Proper sample collection and handling is important to ensure proper results in all laboratory testing but it is especially critical in blood gas analysis, where exposure to ambient air can affect oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood sample. In this course, proper protocols are explained and the test methodolgy used in blood gas, metabolite and electrolyte analysis is reviewed.

Total Credits: 0.5
Approximate hours to complete: 0.5