AE-C study plan
AE-C · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Assessment and Monitoring of Asthma
Classify asthma severity and control level for 8 written case vignettes using symptom frequency, nighttime awakening, SABA use, and activity limitation.
Interpret 6 sets of spirometry values (pre- and post-bronchodilator FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC ratio, and percent predicted) and state whether obstruction with reversibility is present.
Distinguish asthma from at least 5 mimics (vocal cord dysfunction, CHF, COPD, foreign body, bronchiectasis) by listing the discriminating history and test findings for each.
Explain the role and limits of peak expiratory flow monitoring, including personal best determination and diurnal variability calculation.
Your checkpoint
A 2-page spirometry and severity-classification reference sheet plus a closed-book 25-item Domain 1 quiz scored at 80% or higher, with every missed item rewritten as a corrected one-line rule.
Assessment and Monitoring of Asthma & Pharmacologic Management and Device Technique
Administer and score the age-appropriate control instrument (ACT, C-ACT, or TRACK) for 3 sample patients and convert each score into a recommended step of care.
Identify 6 comorbid conditions that worsen asthma control (allergic rhinitis, GERD, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, anxiety/depression, chronic sinusitis) and state the monitoring implication of each.
Sequence the monitoring tasks a clinician performs at a routine follow-up visit, from symptom review through device check to spirometry.
Match each NAEPP step of care to its typical pharmacologic option and to the control assessment that would trigger stepping up or down.
Your checkpoint
A one-page crosswalk table linking control-tool scores to step-of-care decisions, plus 10 written case answers reviewed against source criteria with all discrepancies corrected.
Patient and Family Education and Counseling
Demonstrate teach-back for inhaler technique on a placebo device, self-scoring against a 10-point technique checklist until two consecutive perfect runs are achieved.
Rewrite 3 clinician-authored instruction paragraphs at a 6th-grade reading level and verify with a readability calculator.
Construct a counseling script that addresses corticosteroid phobia, SABA overreliance, and daily-controller adherence for a reluctant caregiver.
Differentiate education approaches for a preschool child, a school-age child, and an adolescent, naming one age-specific teaching strategy for each.
Your checkpoint
A recorded 10-minute mock counseling session (or its full script) plus completed teach-back and technique checklists scoring 90% or better.
Patient and Family Education and Counseling & Care Coordination, Action Plans, and Follow-up
Draft a written asthma action plan with green, yellow, and red zones, specifying drug, dose, and when to call or seek emergency care for both a child and an adult case.
Apply shared decision-making steps to a scenario where the family prefers a treatment the guidelines do not favor, documenting the negotiation and the agreed plan.
Outline the education a caregiver needs before discharge after an emergency visit, including follow-up timing and trigger review.
Identify the components of a school asthma action plan and the consent and communication steps needed to put it in place.
Your checkpoint
Two complete written action plans (pediatric and adult) scored against a 12-point checklist covering all zones, medication specifics, and escalation triggers.
Pharmacologic Management and Device Technique
Compare ICS, ICS-LABA, ICS-formoterol as maintenance-and-reliever therapy, LAMA, leukotriene modifiers, and SABA on mechanism, onset, role in therapy, and key adverse effects in a written table.
Produce written step-by-step technique instructions and a scoring checklist for MDI with valved holding chamber, MDI without spacer, DPI, and nebulizer.
Detect and correct 8 common device errors (failure to shake, poor coordination, no breath-hold, exhaling into DPI, unprimed device, missed dose counter) from written descriptions.
Explain spacer and valved holding chamber selection, cleaning, and static-reduction considerations, and state when a mask interface is required.
Your checkpoint
A device-technique teaching packet with 4 checklists and 8 error-correction vignettes, self-tested at 90% or higher.
Pharmacologic Management and Device Technique & Care Coordination, Action Plans, and Follow-up
Distinguish the indications, monitoring requirements, and response timeline for the available biologic agents and for allergen immunotherapy in severe or allergic asthma.
Construct the step-up and step-down decision logic for 5 cases, stating the reassessment interval and the criteria for referral to a specialist.
Integrate medication changes into an existing action plan so that zone instructions reflect the new regimen.
Calculate and explain an oral corticosteroid burst regimen, its taper considerations, and the adverse-effect monitoring required.
Your checkpoint
A 30-item Domain 4 and 5 quiz scored at 80% or higher, plus one revised action plan showing the updated regimen in all three zones.
Environmental Control and Trigger Management & Care Coordination, Action Plans, and Follow-up
Conduct a room-by-room home environmental assessment for 3 case households and recommend evidence-based, feasible interventions for each identified exposure.
Rank trigger categories (dust mite, animal, cockroach, mold, tobacco smoke, outdoor air and pollen, occupational, cold air, exercise) by the strength of the avoidance evidence and state the practical measure for each.
Explain integrated pest management, mattress and pillow encasement, HEPA filtration, and humidity control with the specific thresholds and limits of each.
Design a follow-up and trigger-review schedule for a patient with poor control despite adequate pharmacotherapy.
Your checkpoint
A completed home environmental assessment form for one case with 10 prioritized recommendations, each tied to an expected outcome and a follow-up checkpoint.
Assessment and Monitoring of Asthma & Patient and Family Education and Counseling & Environmental Control and Trigger Management & Pharmacologic Management and Device Technique & Care Coordination, Action Plans, and Follow-up
Complete a timed 100-item cumulative practice examination under test conditions and score it by domain.
Categorize every missed item by root cause (knowledge gap, misread stem, technique detail, guideline version) and rank the three weakest subdomains.
Re-study only the ranked weak areas and re-answer every missed item until 100% correct with a written justification.
Rehearse device-technique demonstration and action-plan writing one final time to confirm retention.
Your checkpoint
A scored 100-item practice examination at 80% or higher overall and 75% or higher in every domain, with a completed error log showing each missed item, its cause, and the corrected rationale.
Milestones
Week 2: Closed-book Domain 1 quiz at 80% or higher and a completed control-score-to-step-of-care crosswalk table with no unresolved discrepancies.
Week 4: Both written action plans pass all 12 checklist points, and the recorded or scripted counseling session passes teach-back and technique checklists at 90% or higher.
Week 6: Device-technique packet self-tested at 90% and Domain 4 plus 5 quiz at 80%, with the revised action plan showing consistent regimen across all three zones.
Week 8: Cumulative 100-item examination at 80% or higher with every domain at 75% or higher, and an error log with a corrected rationale for every missed item.