“Discuss considerations for preoperative patient preparation, including fasting”
Course Content
This session will orientate you to the perioperative environment. It will provide a broad overview of nursing roles, and key considerations as the patient progresses through their surgical journey. Considerations for the promotion of patient safety including surgical safety checklist, informed consent and pre-operative fasting, and high-risk patient cohorts will be explored.
It includes an overview of high-risk patient cohorts and potential surgical or peri-anaesthesia emergencies, including malignant hypothermia, difficult intubation, and multiple comorbidities.
Learning Outcomes
In this session you will:
- Gain an understanding of the surgical journey from pre-admission to post-anaesthetic care, and perioperative nursing roles
- Discuss considerations for preoperative patient preparation, including fasting
- Explore strategies to promote patient safety, including informed consent, surgical safety checklist
- Discuss high risk patients and anaesthetic emergencies, including malignant hypothermia, difficult intubation


Perioperative Nurse Educator
Emma Luck is a perioperative nurse educator at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in the Metro South Health District. Emma has previously specialised in the intraoperative and circulating instrument nurse roles, and is also practiced in the anaesthetic and post-anaesthetic nursing roles.
Emma has previously educated undergraduate nurses in the tertiary sector, and is published in nursing literature.
In 2018, Emma served on the review committee for the bi-annual Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) national standards and was the co-joint ACORN QLD education chair.
Emma holds two postgraduate diplomas and is currently studying a masters degree in clinical leadership.