Airway and Breathing
Opening the airway and keeping it open
Start with the fundamentals: manual manoeuvres (head-tilt/chin-lift in the uninjured patient, jaw-thrust where spinal injury is suspected), then simple adjuncts (oropharyngeal airway in the unconscious patient without a gag reflex, nasopharyngeal airway where the mouth cannot be opened). Suction precedes adjuncts when vomit or blood is present. Know the difference between a patent airway and a protected one - an open airway does not prevent aspiration.
Oxygen and ventilation
Understand when high-concentration oxygen is indicated (suspected hypoxia, shock, major trauma, cardiac arrest) and when it is titrated (e.g. COPD patients where target saturations are lower). Distinguish reservoir-mask delivery from nasal cannulae by achievable FiO2. For ventilation, be able to describe bag-valve-mask technique with a two-person approach, correct seal, and just-enough volume to see chest rise.
Assessment vocabulary
Candidates must be fluent in respiratory rate, depth, rhythm, effort, accessory muscle use, and the meaning of abnormal sounds - stridor (upper airway), wheeze (lower airway), crackles, and silent chest (a sinister sign). Recognise hypoxia signs (restlessness, confusion, cyanosis as a late sign) and hypercapnia signs (drowsiness, headache, flushed skin).
Traps in questions
Watch for 'first action' stems - usually airway opening or suction, not oxygen. Beware answers that give too much tidal volume or ventilate too fast. Do not confuse stridor with wheeze. Remember that a patient who can speak in full sentences is unlikely to be in immediate airway crisis.
Rule of thumb
Airway before breathing before circulation - but reassess airway after every intervention, because manipulation, vomiting, or deterioration can close it again.