|
The perioperative service at AWH - Wodonga Campus consists of three operating rooms, a six bay post anaesthetic care unit (PACU), and a central sterilising department.
The perioperative unit provides a service for the communities of Albury/Wodonga and the surrounding areas of North East Victoria and Southern New South Wales.
Surgical procedures performed include a range of specialty and general areas:
- General surgery
- General and gynaecological laparoscopic (key hole) surgery
- Open and closed urological surgery
- Ear, nose and throat surgery for children and adults
- Obstetrical and gynaecological surgery
- Endoscopic and minor orthopaedic surgery
- Flexible endoscopy
- Paediatric general surgery
- Pain management interventions.
Hours of Operation
The perioperative service operates from Monday to Friday, with an emergency service provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What Does the Word "Perioperative" Mean?
The word perioperative covers all the activity that occurs in the time a patient spends throughout their visit to the operating suite. There are three phases that patients go through in the perioperative area. These are:
- Preoperative - the time from when the patient is admitted to the operating suite until the
time surgery begins.
- Intra operative - the time in which surgery is actually performed.
- Post operative - the time from the completion of surgery until the patient is transferred
back to their ward from the post anaesthetic care unit.
Perioperative Staff
From the time a patient enters the operating suite, until the time they leave, they are cared for by a variety of nursing and medical staff.
Anaesthetic Nurse - welcomes you to the unit and assists the anaesthetist to care and monitor your condition before, during, and immediately after the anaesthetic is given. At the conclusion of the surgery, the nurse assists the Anaesthetist to reverse the effects of anaesthesia and accompanies you and the anaesthetist to the PACU.
Instrument Nurse - is the nurse who has the responsibility of ensuring that all equipment needed to carry out your surgical procedure is available. S/He wears a sterile gown and gloves and ensures that all equipment is sterile. The instrument nurse has specialist knowledge of the procedure, closely watching your surgery and providing the equipment as required by the surgeon. The surgeon and instrument nurse work together to ensure all equipment is accounted for at the completion of surgery. The instrument nurse also ensures that specimens are handled and labelled correctly prior to going to pathology.
Circulating Nurse - works closely with the instrument nurse to ensure that all equipment is assembled and opened for the surgery. The circulating nurse also monitors you during surgery, and ensures that the surgeon and instrument nurse have all the equipment needed to perform the surgery efficiently and safely. The circulating nurse is the mobile member of the surgical team. They also monitor patient safety, assisting in positioning the patient prior to surgery and attaching equipment. At the conclusion of your surgical procedure, the circulating nurse assists in moving you back onto your bed, before helping to pack away the used equipment and linen, and re-establishing the operating room environment prior to the arrival of the next patient.
Post Anaesthetic Care Nurse - on completion of the anaesthetic and surgical procedure you are transferred to the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU) by the anaesthetist and circulating nurse. The PACU nurse will closely monitor and care for you. The PACU nurses measure and document your vital signs closely for the period immediately following surgery to ensure you have a safe recovery from the effects of anaesthesia. They also observe for signs of complications, which might arise as a result of surgery or anaesthesia. In the PACU you will receive one on one nursing care until you regain consciousness. The PACU nurses at Albury Wodonga Health - Wodonga Campus are also very involved in the management of acute pain in post surgical patients. They will monitor and ask you about the type and amount of pain you are experiencing, and administer drugs as ordered by the anaesthetist. Once you are conscious and your vital signs are stable and pain under control, you will be returned to the ward and a handover will be given to the nursing staff who will continue your post operative care. Patients stay in Recovery from 30 minutes to several hours depending on the nature of their surgery.
Professional Opportunities for Perioperative Staff
The perioperative service is managed at a unit level by a nurse manger. The nurse manager is responsible for all staff within the unit including nursing, porter/cleaners, central sterilising department personnel and clerical support.
Professional development for all staff is encouraged and supported by the position of a Perioperative Clinical Coordinator.
Nursing staff within the unit have access to post graduate perioperative studies in affiliation with two universities.
An "Introduction to Perioperative Nursing" short course is available for new staff, or experienced staff who want to update their knowledge without formalising the process through an academic organisation.
A specialty package has been developed for those New Graduate nurses who choose to undertake a perioperative rotation in their graduate year.
Nursing staff undertake a competency based orientation package linked to the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses, Competency Standards. This program is designed in a flexible mode to enable identification of learning needs from both the new staff members perspective, and the organisation's needs.
Central sterilising department personnel have undertaken studies in the relevant certificates to allow for the provision of a high quality service for the hospital, and other health agencies, which utilise the service.
All staff, regardless of discipline, are supported by preceptors through a competency based learning system, and are assessed for competency before working outside of a supernumerary role.
|
