Moderate Sedation/Analgesia
Course Overview
Moderate sedation is an exciting field for nurses. As newer, safer sedation medications have become available, nurses increasingly providing moderate sedation as part of their practice. Recognition of the goals and objectives of moderate sedation is the first step in providing safe care. Medication administration and knowledge of pharmacologic principles is paramount prior to drug delivery. Providing for patient safety should be the most important aspect of nursing care delivery. Recognition of the nuances of care delivery to specific patient populations must not be overlooked. If these aspects are adhered to throughout moderate sedation, the patient will be provided with safe care before, during, and after sedation.
Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
- Define moderate sedation, including the goals and objectives.
- Detail the necessary components of the preprocedural patient care period, including patient assessment, selection, and preparation.
- List the duties and responsibilities of those who provide care for the patient receiving moderate sedation medications.
- Detail patient care provided during the postsedation period, including the minimal parameters that should be met by the patient prior to discharge after sedation.
- Present the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods and routes of medication administration.
- Review the most commonly used pharmacologic agents for moderate sedation.
- List the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of pulse oximetry and end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring in the sedation setting.
- Describe the various techniques for cardiac monitoring. Explain the advantages of each of these methods.
- Outline the role of bispectral indexing in moderate sedation patients.
- Develop a sedation documentation form that includes the appropriate information.
- Discuss the most common complications occurring during or after moderate sedation.
- Outline the anatomic and physiologic differences between children and adults and how these differences impact pediatric moderate sedation patients.
- Describe the anatomic and physiologic differences in the elderly and the impact of these differences on the administration of sedation.
- Explain how sedation practices should be altered in sedating the obstetric patient.
- Review issues that impact moderate sedation administration for patients in the intensive care unit or those undergoing procedural interventions.
- Identify practice issues for nurses administering moderate sedation.
About the Author/Presenter
Susan Engman Lazear, RN, MN, received her undergraduate education at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing in Washington, D.C. After completing her BSN, she served as an Army Nurse at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco for four years. She then attended the University of Washington School of Nursing and received a Master’s in Nursing, specializing in Burn, Trauma and Emergency Nursing. After receiving her MN, she started Airlift Northwest, the air ambulance service based in Seattle which serves the entire Northwest region, including Alaska. Mrs. Lazear left the air ambulance service to start her own nursing education and consulting business, Specialists in Medical Education. For the past 20 years she has been teaching emergency nursing courses throughout the country. She lives in the Seattle area. Mrs. Lazear continues to teach and publish. She is both an editor and contributing author of Critical Care Nursing, published by W.B. Saunders Company, in June of 1992. She served as an author and reviewer of the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum 6th Edition, published by W.B. Saunders Company in 2007. She has been named to the Who’s Who in American Healthcare list annually since 1992.
Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
TRC Healthcare/ NetCE
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by TRC Healthcare/ NetCE. TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Nursing
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