This module is for nurses and other registered healthcare professionals working in the post- anaesthetic care unit (PACU) of main operating theatres or day surgery environments, who wish to develop the knowledge and skills required to give appropriate and effective care to patients recovering from surgery and anaesthesia.

 

Aims

This module will enable healthcare practitioners to develop the clinical skills and knowledge to provide appropriate and effective care to patients in the PACU environment.

 

What and how you will learn on this module

 

How you will learn:

This module is delivered using a blended learning approach which integrates a variety of on-campus and online activities, supported by Canvas, the University’s virtual learning environment. A complementary range of activities are employed to engage you in the critical exploration of key topic areas, and the completion of formative tasks during the module also helps to keep you on track with the learning and gain feedback on your understanding of the content. A sense of community is developed and maintained with frequent opportunities for peer learning, enabling you to share your practice experiences and to learn from each other. Level 6 and level 7 students taking this module may be taught together.

Academic writing and critical thinking skills are developed through ‘The Critical Thinking Skills Toolkit’ and other academic practice activities embedded within the module, that have been designed to nurture the skills needed to facilitate you to become a thoughtful, objective and reasoned thinker. This will help you tackle the assignment(s) confidently, understand marking criteria, use evidence, take a reasoned approach, make structured arguments and engage with other points of view. 

 

What you will learn:

Anaesthetic and surgical implications for post-anaesthetic care

• Principles of general anaesthesia

• Principles of regional anaesthesia

• Residual effect of general/regional anaesthesia in PACU

• Effects of surgical intervention

 

Assessment, implementation and evaluation of post-anaesthetic care

• Planning, implementation and evaluation of post-anaesthetic care

• Admission and handover

• Prioritising care on patient reception

• Assessment for safe discharge

• Communication (verbal and written)

 

Airway and respiratory assessment and management

• Anatomy and physiology of normal airway/ respiratory function

• Causes of airway/ respiratory disorders in PACU

• Assessment of airway/ respiratory function

• Managing airway obstruction

• Management of respiratory insufficiency

 

Cardiovascular assessment and management

• Anatomy and physiology of normal cardiovascular function

• Causes of post anaesthetic hypo/hypertension

• Assessment and monitoring of cardiovascular function

• Management of cardiovascular dysfunction in PACU

 

Pain assessment and management

• Physiological/psychological factors in acute pain

• Assessment of pain

• Management of acute pain and discomfort

• Multi-modal strategies for pain relief

 

Post-operative nausea (PONV) assessment and management

• Anatomy and physiology of PONV

• Risk assessment strategy in prevention of PONV

• Multi-modal pharmaceutical management of PONV

• Care of patient with PONV

 

Care of different patient groups

• Day surgery patient

• Paediatric patient

• Patient with chronic medical disorders e.g., diabetes, COPD

• Patients with altered capacity

Academic practice

 

• Database searching

• Referencing and avoiding plagiarism

• Critical Thinking Skills Toolkit

 

Course length: 10 teaching days

Assessment

Case study (3000 words) and Competency assessment document (CAD)