The patient was counseled that she might require a tracheotomy just prior to the procedure in case we encountered difficulty intubating her; the tracheotomy would be performed in order to prevent the cyst from rupturing.

Three patient care activities were associated with SARS infection: intubating (relative risk [RR] 4.

Add to that base the skills of gathering more information, plus certain physical skills, such as finding a vein with a hypodermic, or intubating an air passage, along with the mental skills of coming rapidly to a logical judgment based on that information--and you have a basic medical education.