Perioperative Medicine in Action

Make a difference: Improve patient outcomes with perioperative medicine

Too many patients die or suffer prolonged complications following surgery.

Perioperative medicine is an emerging, multi-disciplinary approach which seeks to optimise the care of high-risk surgical patients. It encompasses disciplines such as anaesthetics, surgery, nursing, elderly care, physiotherapy and healthcare management.

In this RCoA-endorsed course, developed by anaesthetists at University College London (UCL) Hospitals, you’ll learn the key concepts you need to improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.

This RCoA endorsed course is aimed at all interested healthcare professionals, both medical and allied health professionals. This would include anaesthetists, surgeons, care-of-the-elderly physicians, pre-assessment nurses, surgical ward nurses, operating department staff, physiotherapists and medical managers, emphasising that enhanced care and improved outcomes depend on a multidisciplinary approach.

Healthcare professionals might find the the Certificate of Achievement for this course useful for providing evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), or commitment to their career.

Although some of the statistics and guidelines are UK specific, the key concepts and learning aims are relevant at an international level.

This RCoA endorsed course is aimed at all interested healthcare professionals, both medical and allied health professionals. This would include anaesthetists, surgeons, care-of-the-elderly physicians, pre-assessment nurses, surgical ward nurses, operating department staff, physiotherapists and medical managers, emphasising that enhanced care and improved outcomes depend on a multidisciplinary approach.

Healthcare professionals might find the the Certificate of Achievement for this course useful for providing evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), or commitment to their career.

Although some of the statistics and guidelines are UK specific, the key concepts and learning aims are relevant at an international level.

• Justify the need for better, more holistic care for the high risk surgical patient, to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
• Engage with risk assessment tools to characterise and quantify the risk of an individual undergoing a particular procedure.
• Demonstrate the need for protocolised care pathways and evaluate the success of the enhanced recovery programmes in reducing variance in practice.
• Describe the major challenges in delivering perioperative medicine for the elderly.
• Discuss the current economic pressure on healthcare systems and how perioperative medicine can be used to reduce these pressures.