Courses by Credit Type

The operating room has traditionally been one of the highest revenue generators for healthcare organizations. This continuing education activity will provide the perioperative nurse with information on ways to improve inventory management in the operating room. It will review the challenges and opportunities associated with effective supply management, and provide specific strategies on product standardization, inventory management and reduction, reduction of waste, data analysis, and improved physician preference card management.

This ebook reviews sterility assurance with a focus on packaging. It includes a brief overview of the impact of surgical site infections, key criteria for the appropriate selection and use of packaging materials, types of sterilization wraps, and the various professional guidelines for best practices related to packaging.

This continuing education activity provides a brief overview of the clinical impact and economic burden of SSIs today. The key characteristics of sterilization wrap materials that help reduce the risk for SSIs, with a focus on nonwoven double layer sterilization wrap, including test data that should be obtained from the manufacturer, will be reviewed.

The purpose of this continuing education activity is to provide a review of the clinical considerations regarding the appropriate selection and use of facial protection devices in healthcare practice settings. It provides an overview of the health hazards inherent to the general healthcare and perioperative environment, criteria for appropriate selection and use of facial protection devices, and relevant regulations and recommendations for manufacture and use.

Apheresis is a procedure with significant physiologic outcomes, so the care of TA patients requires knowledge and skill of leading practices and innovative devices. This educational activity discusses the rationale for TA procedures and the nursing considerations in the delivery of apheresis care. Access methods will be reviewed along with the risks and adverse events associated with vascular access procedures.

This program traces the evolution of methods of surgical hemostasis, reviews the risk factors for perioperative bleeding, highlights the steps in the coagulation cascade, and details the properties, mechanisms of action, components, and safety considerations for several categories of hemostatic, sealant, and adhesive agents.

This program identifies concerns currently associated with intraoperative transfusion and describes effective PBM strategies, including the use of topical hemostatic agents. The importance of using a validated intraoperative bleeding scale to assess and compare the efficacy of these agents is emphasized.

Management of bleeding is an important part of any invasive procedure, and a wide variety of topical adjunctive hemostatic agents are available to supplement the surgeon’s application of conventional approaches to this critical outcome. This course begins with a description of the components of whole blood and the natural process of hemostasis, followed by an explanation of where topical hemostats act within this sequence of events.

Learn about how an evidence-based and team-based approach for positioning is needed to ensure a safe surgery. Evidence-based guidance from AORN and other safety sources is outlined in this elearning, including specific safe positioning recommendations for all surgical positions, even high-risk positions such as steep Trendelenburg.

This educational program identifies the clinical considerations related to surgical instrument care, cleaning, test functioning, routine maintenance, and basic repairs. This information will help you keep instruments in excellent condition so patients can receive the best care possible.

This program is specifically designed to enhance the skills of all team members. The focus is on the essential steps of cleaning, disinfecting, and maintaining surgical instruments, particularly clip appliers fundamental in heart surgeries.

This continuing education program will examine the potential benefits of using an instrument management system to facilitate instrument optimization, organization, and manual count confirmation through a series of visual, mechanical, and educational aids incorporated into the design.

This program defines the characteristics of hazardous drugs, identifies groups of HCWs at greatest risk, and describes potential routes and effects of occupational exposure. Recommendations offered by government agencies and professional associations for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are summarized, focusing on the proper use of gloves and gowns when handling chemotherapy drugs.

The increased need to navigate to areas impossible to locate through touch, and an increased focus on oncoplastic approaches, have led to the development of several wire-free localization techniques that alleviate some of the evidence-based disadvantages of wire-guided localization. This program aims to educate a broader audience on the latest localization techniques for breast conservation surgery with a specific focus on Radar Localization.

Preventing disease transmission is a major concern for all members of the perioperative team. This continuing education activity discusses the triangle of concern presented by bacterial penetration of barrier fabrics (ie, surgical gowns, face masks, and sterilization wraps) through forced air currents and its implications for the perioperative nurse.