Perioperative nursing

Before, during and after surgery: preparation, theatre roles, recovery and complications.

7 pages

Fundamental

• Enhanced recovery after surgery: the nursing elementsEnhanced recovery is a bundle of proven steps before, during and after surgery that helps…
• Intraoperative nursing: scrub and circulating roles, positioning and countsIn the operating room one nurse works inside the sterile field and another outside it, and…

Assessment

• Immediate recovery after anaesthesia: monitoring and discharge criteriaIn the recovery room the nurse watches breathing first, then circulation, consciousness, pain…
• Postoperative complications: recognising them and when to callMost postoperative complications give early warning signs; the nurse finds them by regular…
• The surgical wound: healing, dehiscence and infectionA closed surgical wound usually heals in weeks; the nurse protects it, watches for infection and…

Safe practice

• Postoperative care on the ward: the first 24–48 hoursOn the ward the nurse helps the patient breathe deeply, move early, control pain and eat again…
• Preoperative care: assessment, teaching, fasting, skin preparation and the checklistBefore surgery the nurse assesses the patient, teaches them what to expect, and prepares their…

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← Nursing: fundamentals and procedures

Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.

Representative model, for educational purposes only.