Describe the standard equipment and material set up for an adult patient on a morning operating list who has a change of anaesthetic plan at short notice. 

Summative Assignment Guidance
ODP-4-011

The summative assessment for this module consists of a 3000word written assignment which is weighted as 100% of your overall mark for the module.

This assignment requires you to describe the standard equipment and material set up for an adult patient on a morning operating list who has a change of anaesthetic plan at short notice. This change of plan requires an additional regional procedure to be performed for pain relief. Your essay should explain the importance of adequate preparation of the clinical area with rationale, and the potential risk that can arise when anaesthetic plans are changed. There should therefore be a specific focus on patient safety.

Your essay must include the following elements:

1) The anaesthetic machine checks made by an anaesthetic assistant prior to the start of a list.

2) The preparation of materials and equipment for an adult patient undergoing a procedure under general anaesthesia requiring standard endotracheal intubation.

3) The preparation of materials and equipment for IV cannulation and intravenous fluid therapy.

After you have set up for a general anaesthetic (and after the patient has been sent for), you are then informed that an additional regional anaesthetic procedure is to be performed to provide pain relief for the same patient.

4) The preparation of materials and equipment for a patient receiving a regional anaesthetic. This regional procedure should be chosen is Spinal.

5) A conclusion which pulls together the potential risks arising from inadequate preparation, last minute changes to plans, and the importance of good team communication.

6) Appropriate use of references throughout your assignment.

Further information

The word count for this assignment is 3000 words +10%
Should be written in the 3rd person. Anaesthetist assistant.
Please submit file as a word document only.
Acceptable fonts: Times, size 11; Arial, size 11; Palatino, size 11; Geneva, size 11.
Predominant letter style to be Plain Text, using lower case with upper case for Initial Letters.
Double spaced
Margins: 3.0 cm approx.
Page numbers must be provided centrally, at the bottom of the page.

The required content for this assignment is a detailed description of the preparation carried out by an anaesthetic assistant who is setting up for a morning list for an adult patient who is going to have a general anaesthetic with standard intubation and a regional procedure. You are advised to use the headings as provided below to structure your work.

Introduction (150-250 words)

This should be a short introduction outlining for the reader what you will be discussing in your essay and why.

Anaesthetic machine check (600-750 words)

The anaesthetic machine check, must include how the following checks should be performed, with rationale (i.e. what you are looking for with each test and why). The tests should be described in the order they would be performed. The tests should include the following: Power supply and back up battery, pipelines (including types of pipelines, Schrader valves and probes, pipeline pressures), cylinder checks and the pin index system, flowmeters, oxygen failure alarm, hypoxic guard test, suction, vaporisers, checks performed on the ventilator and the bag side of the circuit to make sure there are no leaks, the function of the APL valve and how it is checked, Common Gas Outlet (CGO) and the oxygen (O2) flush, CO2 absorber, scavenging, oxygen sensor calibration, alternative means of ventilation i.e. AMBU bag.

Preparation for a general anaesthetic with endotracheal Intubation (600-750 words)

This section describes the set up of the Intubation trolley in preparation for a standard intubation in an adult patient using a standard endotracheal tube (to include sizes of all equipment that should be prepared (where appropriate) for both adult men and women, and a rationale for the checks performed and the item’s purpose). Items to include: Anaesthetic face mask, catheter mount, and filter (this is the preparation of the circuit for that patient), laryngoscopes, endotracheal tubes, oropharyngeal airways (i.e. Guedel airway), nasopharyngeal airways, supraglottic airways (i.e. LMAs and I-gels), Magill forceps, laryngeal spray, bougies and stylets, suction catheters, syringe, tapes/ties, and eye protection.

Preparation of materials and equipment for IV cannulation and intravenous fluid therapy (400-500 words)

In this section you should describe the equipment and materials that should be available in the cannulation tray with rationale including the cannula sizes, antiseptic that should be used, tourniquets, cannula dressing, other sundries. You should also describe the materials and equipment used for setting up a drip (IV fluid therapy), including the checks carried out with rationale. Describe how a drip should be set-up with rationale. Describe what fluids would be commonly set up and why, how are these checked? How is a drip set up using aseptic technique?

Preparation of equipment and materials for (500-650 words)… (Spinal block) Describe the set up for a regional procedure of your choice (spinal) including all equipment and materials that needs to be prepared and available with rationale; including the specific types and sizes of needles and local anaesthetic solution used, describe the setting up of the sterile field and introduction of items to the sterile field, antisepsis (including the cleaning solution that should be used and why), any PPE required by the anaesthetist, and requirements for positioning.

Discussion and Conclusion (300-400 words)

The conclusion should bring together the main themes of the assignment with a discussion of the importance of adequate preparation and good communication, especially where there is any change of plan to ensure patient safety.

Reference list

The reference list is not included in the word count. List all sources you have used in your work. Each in-text citation must be identifiable in the reference list. The list should be in alphabetical order according to the author’s surname. Harvard referencing style.

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