Premedical Educational Development in Critical Care Medicine
This repository contains educational materials developed for medical school application portfolio purposes and is not intended for clinical application.
This is not:
- Medical advice or clinical guidance
- Real patient documentation or clinical records
- An institutional guideline or clinical protocol
- Approved for clinical use
- A substitute for clinical training or supervision
This is:
- Independent pre-medical educational project
- Simulated case studies for learning demonstration
- Medical school application portfolio material
- Structured clinical reasoning exercise
All cases are entirely hypothetical, de-identified, and synthetic.
Institutional Affiliation:
This is an independent educational project. It is not an official University of Washington or UW Medicine document and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by UW Medicine, its faculty, or staff.
Clinical Context:
Cases are constructed from published literature, educational resources, and general medical knowledge. Clinical observation at UW Medical Center informed educational learning but does not constitute clinical practice or patient care involvement.
Educational Purpose:
This portfolio demonstrates observational learning, structured case-based reasoning development, and physiologic understanding for medical school preparation. It does not represent independent clinical decision-making or professional medical practice.
Liability:
This work is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Users assume full responsibility for any use of these materials.
Author Status:
Pre-medical student. Not a licensed healthcare professional. Not engaged in clinical practice.
A comprehensive collection of simulated ICU cases documenting progressive clinical reasoning development in critical care medicine. This portfolio demonstrates systematic approach to:
- Hemodynamic instability and shock physiology
- Respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Neurocritical care and traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Perioperative complications and acute surgical physiology
- Sedation, analgesia, and delirium management
- Fluid resuscitation and acute kidney injury (AKI)
- Trauma and airway emergencies
- ECMO candidacy assessment and advanced life support
- Sepsis and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS)
Educational Approach:
Each case includes structured Assessment and Plan documentation modeled after formats used in critical care training. Cases progress in complexity, reflecting development from foundational ICU concepts to advanced multi-system management.
ICU-Clinical-Reasoning-Portfolio/
├── README.md # This file
├── 01_Hemodynamics_and_Shock/ # Shock states and hemodynamic cases
├── 02_Respiratory_Failure/ # Ventilation and ARDS cases
├── 03_Neurocritical_Care/ # TBI, stroke, and neuro cases
├── 04_Perioperative_Complications/ # Post-surgical critical illness
├── 05_Sedation_and_Delirium/ # ICU sedation management
├── 06_Renal_and_Fluid/ # AKI and fluid resuscitation
├── 07_Trauma_and_Airways/ # Trauma and airway emergencies
├── 08_ECMO_and_Advanced_Support/ # Advanced life support cases
├── 09_Sepsis_and_MODS/ # Sepsis and multi-organ failure
└── References/ # Evidence base and citations
Medical Students:
- Study structured clinical reasoning frameworks
- Practice differential diagnosis development
- Learn ICU assessment and planning documentation
- Understand multi-system critical illness management
Pre-Medical Students:
- Demonstrate clinical interest and engagement
- Show systematic approach to complex medical problems
- Build foundational critical care knowledge
- Prepare for medical school clinical rotations
Navigate by clinical domain:
- Choose a case category from the repository structure
- Review patient presentation and clinical data
- Analyze assessment and management plan
- Compare with current critical care guidelines
Each case follows standardized ICU documentation structure:
Patient Presentation:
- Chief complaint and admission diagnosis
- Relevant history and physical exam findings
- Pertinent laboratory and imaging data
Assessment:
- Problem list by system
- Physiologic reasoning and differential diagnosis
- Risk stratification and severity assessment
Plan:
- System-by-system management approach
- Monitoring and intervention strategy
- Evidence-based rationale for decisions
Learning Points:
- Key physiologic concepts
- Clinical pearls and pitfalls
- Relevant literature and guidelines
Cases are informed by:
- Critical care textbooks (Marino's ICU Book, UpToDate)
- Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) guidelines
- American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) recommendations
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network (ARDSNet) protocols
- Traumatic Brain Injury Foundation guidelines
- Peer-reviewed critical care literature (2020-2025)
Complete references provided in each case directory.
Foundational Cases (Cases 1-3):
- Single-system pathology
- Clear-cut diagnoses
- Standard management approaches
Intermediate Cases (Cases 4-7):
- Multi-system involvement
- Diagnostic uncertainty
- Competing priorities
Advanced Cases (Cases 8-12):
- Complex multi-organ failure
- Rare presentations
- Ethical and resource allocation challenges
- Advanced life support considerations
Author: Collin B. George, BS
Project Type: Independent pre-medical educational portfolio
Status: Preparing for medical school matriculation 2026
Educational Context: Clinical observation at University of Washington Medical Center informed case development
GitHub: github.com/collingeorge
ORCID: 0009-0007-8162-6839
License: CC BY 4.0
The author is grateful to University of Washington faculty and critical care staff for clinical observation opportunities and mentorship that informed this educational work.
Clinical observation provided exposure to ICU workflows, clinical reasoning processes, and multi-disciplinary critical care medicine. This does not constitute clinical training, patient care involvement, or institutional collaboration.
This is a living educational portfolio. Constructive feedback is welcome:
- Issues: Open a GitHub issue for corrections or suggestions
- Pull Requests: Submit proposed improvements to case presentations
- Discussions: Use GitHub Discussions for educational questions
Note: This is an educational portfolio, not a clinical resource. Feedback should focus on educational value and clinical reasoning demonstration.
If you reference this work in presentations or academic writing:
George CB. ICU Clinical Reasoning Portfolio: Premedical Educational
Development in Critical Care Medicine. GitHub Repository. Version 1.0.
Published December 2025. Available from:
https://github.com/collingeorge/ICU-Clinical-Reasoning-Portfolio
[Accessed: date]
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to:
- Share and redistribute the material for educational purposes
- Adapt and build upon the material for educational purposes
Under the following terms:
- Attribution: Give appropriate credit to Collin B. George, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made
- Do not suggest that the author or any institution endorses you or your use
© 2025 Collin B. George — Licensed under CC BY 4.0