Perioperative Nursing CEU Courses

Roughly 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) each year; yet most have no symptoms (Cleveland Clinic, 2021). In the U.S., AAA is the 10th leading cause of death in men after age 55. A person is twice as likely to develop an AAA if a first-degree relative has experienced AAA. Clinicians in community and acute care settings should be aware of the symptoms of AAA and follow screening and surveillance schedules. This course presents an overview of AAA diagnosis and treatment.

More than 54.1 million people undergo surgical procedures annually in the United States, and many suffer from avoidable adverse events. This course provides evidence-based practice (EBP) information to promote the management of hypothermia, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and handover communication in the perioperative setting. Each topic includes an overview of EBP information that healthcare providers can apply to reduce patient harm from adverse events. The ability to apply the information depends on a solid understanding of EBP in the perioperative setting.

• Identify the current problem and contributing factors of obesity in the U.S.
• Describe the management and treatment options for obesity.

• Identify the mechanisms of action and indications of commonly used vasoactive drugs in the OR.
• Recognize the physiologic effects of vasoactive drug therapy as well as positive and negative outcomes associated with vasoactive drugs.

The perioperative nurse plays a primary role in the operative process. Knowledge of procedures, appropriate patient assessment, and care management guidelines will positively impact patient outcomes. Patients consider anesthesia to be a major risk of surgery and expect perioperative team members to be their advocates by caring for their pre-, intra-, and post-operative needs and providing safe and effective care. This course discusses anesthetics and adjuvant medications used in the clinical setting, anesthesia-related complications, and the nurse’s role in management of perioperative patients.

Transfusions are a life-saving intervention, but transfusion errors, particularly errors involving ABO incompatibility, can be deadly. Three actions that have frequently been a contributing cause for ABO incompatibility errors are incorrect labeling of the blood sample for crossmatching, incorrect interpretation by personnel in the blood bank, and incorrect identification of the patient prior to initiation of a transfusion. Laboratory staff and nurses who are involved in the administration of blood products must strictly follow facility policies to ensure that they give the correct blood product to the correct patient.

Whether at the surgical site or on the hands of the healthcare provider, human skin is inherently laden with resident and transient flora. This course addresses ways to reduce pathogens on the skin of caregivers and surgical patients to reduce the risk of infections. It provides historical context and explains proper glove use and skin antisepsis, surgical scrubs, and pre-op cleansing. The course also discusses types of antiseptic solutions and considerations for their use.

Hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg) is often considered the defining hallmark of shock, but it can also be a late or deceptive sign. Therefore, other signs and symptoms must be identified early to detect and respond to a patient’s deteriorating state before irreversible shock ensues. The pathophysiologic process of shock is complicated, which makes nursing management challenging. An understanding of the pathophysiology, aspects of diagnosis, and effective interventions are crucial to patient survival. Knowledge of the different states of shock and evidenced-based interventions is important for nurses as they play a vital role in promoting timely detection and treatment. Such knowledge can help the clinical nurse promote care that is based on the latest guidelines.

Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. (CDC, 2019a). Unintentional traumatic injuries and violence claim nearly 200,000 lives per year, with motor vehicle crashes and falls accounting for nearly 78,000 deaths in 2019 (CDC, 2019b). Trauma and violence also account for more than 2.5 million non-fatal injuries annually and are the leading cause of hospitalization, morbidity, and disability in people between the ages of 1 and 55 (CDC, 2019b). Among trauma victims, blunt chest trauma is cited as the primary cause of death in 20% to 25% of cases (CDC, 2019b).

This course has a maximum of 3 exam attempts.

Pain Management is a multifaceted challenge. We use pain scales to try to understand how another person may feel or describe pain. This webinar will begin with an introduction to the importance of appropriately  assessing acute and chronic pain as patients experience it as well as the importance of assessing the effect of pain on function. The differences between medication tolerance, dependency, pseudoaddiction, and substance use disorder will be explored. Are opioids always the answer? Are complementary pain therapies just “nice to try” interventions or underappreciated effective remedies? Join an interesting discussion about managing pain with an overview of a multimodal approach with pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions which will help to answer those questions.

Sepsis is a complex, multifactorial condition that results in high healthcare costs and significant morbidity and mortality. The definitions of sepsis, septic shock, and organ dysfunction were established in 1991. Over the past 20 years, more research has been conducted on sepsis pathophysiology and management, and several new antibiotics have been approved. A new guideline was released in 2016 that reexamines sepsis and associated definitions and provides updated recommendations for managing patients with sepsis. Interprofessional healthcare teams have been shown to improve patient outcomes and are essential in caring for critically ill patients. It is therefore important for each member of the team to understand sepsis and collaborate to provide the best care. This program will review sepsis guidelines, comment on updates from previous guidelines, and provide information regarding the management of sepsis from different aspects of the healthcare team.

Healthcare professionals weigh decisions on how to care for patients with pain. With the backdrop of the opioid epidemic and current opioid misuse situations, it may seem that the struggle to determine “the right thing to do” is even more complex. Join a pain management expert for an interesting discussion of how ethics and personal experiences collide in the complex pain management conversation.