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Continuing Education
Coming Soon
CE Perioperative Nursing
The course teaches perioperative nurses the Surgical Safety Checklist, Time‑Out procedures, malignant hyperthermia management, SSI prevention, and PACU assessment, ensuring safe, evidence‑based care across the surgical continuum.
Who Should Take This
Registered nurses working in pre‑operative, intra‑operative, or post‑anesthesia care units who have at least one year of clinical experience and seek to update their knowledge of safety protocols and complication management will benefit. They aim to enhance patient outcomes and meet credentialing requirements.
What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI
Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats
Course Outline
65 learning goals
1
Surgical Safety Checklist
1 topic
WHO checklist implementation
- Identify the three phases of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist: Sign In before anesthesia, Time Out before incision, and Sign Out before leaving the OR.
- Describe the specific verification items in each checklist phase including patient identity, procedure confirmation, site marking, allergy review, and equipment checks.
- Explain the evidence base for surgical safety checklists including impact on mortality, surgical site infections, and communication errors in the operating room.
- Analyze checklist compliance barriers including workflow interruptions, team hierarchy, normalization of deviance, and recommend strategies for improving consistent use.
- Synthesize a surgical safety program incorporating checklist compliance monitoring, team training, safety culture assessment, and continuous improvement strategies.
2
Time-Out Procedures
1 topic
Universal Protocol
- Describe the TJC Universal Protocol components including pre-procedure verification process, surgical site marking requirements, and time-out procedure elements.
- Explain the nursing role in the time-out including active participation, speak-up responsibility, documentation of completed time-out, and stop-the-line authority.
- Identify wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person surgery prevention strategies including redundant verification steps and standardized marking protocols.
- Analyze near-miss and wrong-site surgery case studies to identify system failures and recommend process improvements for Universal Protocol compliance.
3
Malignant Hyperthermia
1 topic
MH recognition and response
- Identify the triggering agents for malignant hyperthermia including succinylcholine and volatile inhalational anesthetics and describe genetic susceptibility patterns.
- Describe the clinical signs of malignant hyperthermia including unexplained tachycardia, hypercapnia, muscle rigidity, temperature elevation, and metabolic acidosis.
- Explain the emergency management of malignant hyperthermia including dantrolene preparation and administration, active cooling, hyperventilation, and monitoring protocols.
- Describe MH-safe anesthesia protocols including trigger-free techniques, OR preparation for susceptible patients, and MHAUS resources and hotline availability.
- Analyze intraoperative scenarios to identify early signs of malignant hyperthermia and determine appropriate timing and sequence of emergency interventions.
4
Surgical Site Infection Prevention
1 topic
SSI prevention bundles
- Identify risk factors for surgical site infection including patient factors, procedural factors, wound classification, and environmental factors in the OR.
- Describe the evidence-based SSI prevention bundle including preoperative skin antisepsis, antimicrobial prophylaxis timing, intraoperative normothermia, and glycemic control.
- Explain hair removal best practices including clipping versus shaving, timing relative to surgery, and the evidence supporting clipper use for infection reduction.
- Describe surgical wound classification including clean, clean-contaminated, contaminated, and dirty or infected and their associated infection risk percentages.
- Analyze SSI surveillance data and bundle compliance metrics to identify prevention gaps and recommend targeted interventions for rate reduction.
- Describe antimicrobial prophylaxis guidelines including drug selection by procedure type, weight-based dosing, timing within 60 minutes of incision, and redosing criteria.
5
PACU Assessment
1 topic
Post-anesthesia care
- Describe PACU admission assessment including airway patency, respiratory status, hemodynamic stability, level of consciousness, pain level, and surgical site evaluation.
- Explain the Aldrete scoring system including activity, respiration, circulation, consciousness, and oxygen saturation criteria for PACU discharge readiness.
- Identify common PACU complications including airway obstruction, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, nausea and vomiting, hypothermia, and emergence delirium.
- Describe PACU management of post-operative nausea and vomiting including risk factor assessment, prophylactic antiemetic strategies, and rescue treatment algorithms.
- Describe post-spinal and post-epidural assessment including dermatome level checks, motor function evaluation, hemodynamic monitoring, and post-dural puncture headache recognition.
- Analyze PACU patient deterioration scenarios to identify emerging complications, prioritize interventions, and determine appropriate discharge versus extended monitoring decisions.
6
Moderate Sedation
1 topic
Sedation monitoring
- Identify the levels of sedation including minimal, moderate, deep sedation, and general anesthesia using the ASA sedation continuum definitions.
- Describe pre-sedation assessment requirements including airway evaluation, Mallampati score, NPO status verification, consent documentation, and risk factor identification.
- Explain monitoring requirements during moderate sedation including continuous pulse oximetry, capnography, ECG, blood pressure, and level of consciousness assessment.
- Describe common moderate sedation medications including midazolam, fentanyl, propofol, and ketamine with their onset, peak, duration, and reversal agents.
- Analyze moderate sedation monitoring data to identify progression to deep sedation, respiratory depression, or hemodynamic instability and determine appropriate rescue interventions.
7
Preoperative Nursing
1 topic
Preoperative assessment and preparation
- Describe preoperative nursing assessment including health history, physical examination, medication review, allergy documentation, and laboratory result evaluation.
- Explain preoperative patient education including procedure description, NPO instructions, postoperative expectations, pain management plan, and informed consent verification.
- Identify preoperative medication management including anticoagulant bridging protocols, diabetic medication adjustments, and cardiac medication continuation or hold guidelines.
- Describe informed consent elements including procedure description, risks, benefits, alternatives, and the nursing role in witnessing consent and ensuring patient comprehension.
- Analyze preoperative assessment findings to identify patients at increased surgical risk and recommend appropriate preoperative optimization or consultation referrals.
- Describe preoperative optimization strategies including prehabilitation programs, smoking cessation, nutritional optimization, and anemia correction before elective surgery.
8
Intraoperative Nursing
1 topic
OR nursing responsibilities
- Describe the circulating nurse role including patient advocacy, safety monitoring, documentation, supply management, and communication with the surgical team.
- Explain the scrub nurse role including sterile technique maintenance, instrument handling, surgical count procedures, and anticipating surgeon needs during the procedure.
- Describe surgical count procedures for sponges, sharps, and instruments including initial count, closing count, relief count, and actions for incorrect count resolution.
- Identify patient positioning risks including nerve injury, pressure injury, compartment syndrome, and falls and describe prevention strategies for common surgical positions.
- Explain surgical fire prevention including the fire risk assessment tool, oxygen management, surgical prep solution drying, and laser safety protocols in the OR.
- Analyze intraoperative events including unplanned extubation, allergic reactions, massive blood loss, and equipment failure to determine appropriate emergency nursing responses.
9
Sterile Technique and Infection Control
1 topic
Sterile field management
- Describe the principles of aseptic technique including sterile field creation, sterile gloving and gowning, draping procedures, and contamination identification.
- Explain traffic pattern management in the OR including restricted and semi-restricted areas, door management during cases, and personnel movement limitations.
- Describe surgical instrument processing including decontamination, cleaning, inspection, packaging, sterilization methods, and sterility verification indicators.
- Analyze sterile field break scenarios to determine contamination extent, appropriate corrective actions, and documentation requirements for maintaining aseptic technique.
- Synthesize a perioperative infection prevention program incorporating SSI bundles, environmental controls, staff hand hygiene, and surveillance data monitoring.
10
Perioperative Quality and Safety
1 topic
Quality improvement
- Identify perioperative quality metrics including surgical site infection rates, wrong-site surgery events, unplanned returns to OR, and patient satisfaction scores.
- Describe the SCIP and current surgical quality improvement measures including process measures, outcome measures, and reporting requirements for CMS programs.
- Explain perioperative handoff communication standards including transfer of care from preop to OR, OR to PACU, and PACU to inpatient unit using structured tools.
- Synthesize a comprehensive perioperative nursing competency program incorporating surgical safety, sterile technique, PACU assessment, sedation monitoring, and quality metrics.
11
Anesthesia Types and Nursing Implications
1 topic
Anesthesia modalities
- Identify the types of anesthesia including general, regional (spinal and epidural), nerve blocks, local, and monitored anesthesia care with their clinical applications.
- Describe nursing assessment for general anesthesia including airway evaluation, ASA classification, NPO verification, and preoperative anxiolytic administration protocols.
- Explain nursing considerations for regional anesthesia including patient positioning, hemodynamic monitoring, complications recognition, and post-procedure sensory and motor assessment.
- Describe local anesthesia maximum dose calculations, local anesthetic systemic toxicity recognition including perioral numbness and seizures, and lipid emulsion rescue therapy.
- Analyze perioperative scenarios to determine the most appropriate anesthesia type based on procedure, patient history, and risk factors and anticipate associated nursing care needs.
12
Perioperative Temperature Management
1 topic
Hypothermia prevention
- Identify risk factors for perioperative hypothermia including prolonged surgery, open body cavity exposure, cold irrigation, and anesthesia-induced thermoregulation impairment.
- Describe active warming strategies including forced air warming blankets, warmed IV fluids, heated humidified gases, and temperature monitoring sites and frequency.
- Explain the adverse effects of perioperative hypothermia including increased infection risk, coagulopathy, delayed drug metabolism, cardiac dysrhythmias, and prolonged recovery.
- Analyze temperature data across the perioperative continuum to identify hypothermia prevention gaps and recommend evidence-based warming protocol modifications.
13
Perioperative Pain Management
1 topic
Multimodal perioperative analgesia
- Describe multimodal perioperative analgesia including preemptive analgesia, regional techniques, non-opioid adjuncts, and opioid-sparing strategies for postoperative pain.
- Explain Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol pain management components including pre-, intra-, and postoperative analgesic interventions and early mobilization goals.
- Identify patient-controlled analgesia pump programming, safety features, nursing monitoring requirements, and patient education for effective self-administered pain management.
- Analyze postoperative pain management scenarios to determine appropriate multimodal regimen adjustments, opioid tapering schedules, and discharge pain management plans.
Scope
Included Topics
- WHO Surgical Safety Checklist phases, verification items, and compliance strategies.
- Universal Protocol time-out procedures, site marking, and wrong-site surgery prevention.
- Malignant hyperthermia recognition, emergency management, dantrolene administration, and MH-safe protocols.
- SSI prevention bundles including skin preparation, antibiotic prophylaxis, normothermia, and glycemic control.
- PACU assessment, Aldrete scoring, complication recognition, and post-anesthesia discharge criteria.
- Moderate sedation levels, monitoring requirements, medication pharmacology, and rescue interventions.
- Preoperative assessment, patient education, medication management, and informed consent.
- Intraoperative nursing including circulator and scrub roles, surgical counts, positioning, and fire safety.
- Sterile technique principles, sterile field management, and instrument processing.
- Perioperative quality metrics, handoff communication, and surgical quality improvement programs.
Not Covered
- Anesthesia administration techniques or advanced airway management beyond nursing assistance.
- Surgical technique details beyond perioperative nursing assessment and documentation.
- Advanced operating room technology or robotics engineering beyond clinical nursing use.
- Ambulatory surgery center administration beyond clinical nursing responsibilities.
- Advanced cardiac surgery or transplant perioperative management beyond general principles.
CE Perioperative Nursing is coming soon
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