CVP5008 · Perfusion principles and practices 3: Advanced clinical management

Overview

In this unit, you will develop advanced proficiency in case-specific perfusion management across core cardiac, complex, and non-cardiac procedures, alongside crisis resource management and leadership for high-risk scenarios. You will master perfusion adjustments for complex valve surgery, redo operations, aortic dissections and complex arch procedures, adult congenital heart disease, transplantation innovations, and specialist procedures including isolated limb perfusion and HIPEC. You will examine advanced organ protection strategies, specialised protocols for patient presentations including cold agglutinins, HITs, and pregnancy, and structured troubleshooting for perfusion emergencies and mechanical support transitions. A strong focus will be placed on linking patient pathology, surgical requirements, and real-time risk assessment to practical bypass planning and conduct. This patient-centred approach ensures you can adapt perfusion strategies to diverse clinical presentations, demonstrate leadership in multidisciplinary teams, and apply ethical decision-making during advanced scenarios including failure-to-wean scenarios and ECMO conversions.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook lists an examination for this unit.

Assessment in this unit includes hurdle assessment tasks. Failure of any hurdle assessment task may result in failure of the unit.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Evaluate and justify case-specific perfusion strategies across core cardiac, complex, and non-cardiac procedures to support safe, patient-centred practice.
2. Justify specialised management protocols for complex scenarios and high-risk conditions to minimise patient harm and procedural risk during perfusion.
3. Analyse and mitigate perfusion system failures and clinical disaster scenarios using a structured troubleshooting approach to maintain patient safety.
4. Assess and manage acute bypass emergencies by recognising emergent situations early and initiating evidence-based corrective actions to optimise patient outcomes.
5. Synthesise communication, leadership, ethical reasoning and clinical judgement strategies to guide and reflect upon decision-making in advanced and crisis management scenarios.
6. Model communication, leadership and multidisciplinary collaboration across a range of professional formats and high-pressure clinical contexts.

Workload

3 hours of teacher-directed study per week, including 2 hours of lectures per week and 2 hours of tutorials per fortnight 9 hours of self-directed study Total per week = 12 hours

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.