Courses by Specialty

This continuing education activity will review the significance of irrigation fluid management, including the clinical care implications related to the use of irrigation fluid throughout the patient’s perioperative journey. The clinical team members’ roles related to irrigation fluid management will be outlined and the complications associated with the use of irrigation during a procedure will be reviewed.

This continuing education activity will address the role of environmental contamination in the transmission of HAIs, describe the latest research on environmental hygiene in the operating room (OR), and list the monitoring methods available to objectively evaluate environmental hygiene. Process improvement methods and new technologies such as self-disinfecting surfaces and “no touch” area cleaners utilizing ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and hydrogen peroxide vapor will be described.

Healthcare professionals will become familiar with evidence-based approaches for safe fluid waste management and disposal. They should also take an active role in incorporating safe fluid waste management in policies, procedures, and staff educational activities to reduce exposure to fluid waste across the healthcare setting.

This continuing education activity will describe observable symptoms of burnout, contributing factors, and opportunities to enhance resilience and prevent burnout. In addition, myths, facts, and recent events related to clinician burnout, will be explored.

This program provides an overview of strategies to prevent CAUTIs, including appropriate indications for insertion of indwelling urinary catheters (IUC), alternatives to indwelling catheters, insertion and maintenance bundles, and antimicrobial stewardship measures.

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.

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.

Early mobilization is a key component for optimizing patient outcomes in the ICU. A standardized progressive mobility protocol provides an outline to develop and implement evidence-based interventions that will improve patient mobilization safely and effectively.

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.

Des cas de brûlures accidentelles ont été documentés. De plus, des rapports de brûlures résultant d’une exposition prolongée à l’éclairage chirurgical traditionnel, en particulier avant l’adoption de la technologie des diodes électroluminescentes (DEL). Cette activité éducative permettra de cerner les risques associés aux éclairages opératoires pour les patients et les stratégies visant à améliorer la sécurité des patients.

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.

Guidelines for the care and maintenance of surgical instruments are provided, along with recommendations for the proper handling of these items. Methods for the decontamination, sterilization, and high-level disinfection of surgical instruments are discussed in detail.

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.