Surgical Nursing: Postoperative Assessment and Recovery

Course Purpose

Develop a structured approach to postoperative assessment and handoff, pain and medication safety, respiratory and gastrointestinal recovery, wound changes, bleeding, infection, thrombosis risk, delirium, urinary retention, and discharge teaching. The course emphasizes nursing observation, documentation, communication, and timely escalation within the care team.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 4 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

Develop a structured approach to postoperative assessment and handoff, pain and medication safety, respiratory and gastrointestinal recovery, wound changes, bleeding, infection, thrombosis risk, delirium, urinary retention, and discharge teaching. The course emphasizes nursing observation, documentation, communication, and timely escalation within the care team.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

1. Organize postoperative surveillance around baseline function, current findings, trends, and unresolved concerns.
2. Communicate procedure context, medication exposure, assessment changes, responses, and pending concerns during handoff.
3. Assess pain severity, character, location, and interference with breathing, movement, sleep, and daily activities.
4. Explain multimodal analgesia principles while routing treatment selection and adjustment to surgery, anesthesia, and pharmacy.
5. Balance pain relief with surveillance for opioid-associated sedation, respiratory depression, and elimination problems.
6. Recognize respiratory changes and support positioning, mobility, breathing exercises, and incentive spirometry as ordered.
7. Assess unexpected or persistent postoperative nausea and vomiting for associated respiratory, circulatory, and abdominal concerns.
8. Track bowel recovery through distension, pain, oral tolerance, flatus, stool, and serial assessment.
9. Assess suspected urinary retention using timing, output, symptoms, and authorized bladder ultrasound without making catheterization decisions.
10. Recognize impaired-healing risks and describe wound, dressing, and drainage changes requiring surgical or wound-service review.
11. Identify suspected deep dehiscence as a surgical emergency without independently manipulating or closing the wound.
12. Recognize possible compensated hemorrhagic shock before hypotension through integrated perfusion and bleeding observations.
13. Escalate suspected infection-associated organ dysfunction using the facility's current sepsis and emergency pathways.
14. Communicate thrombosis and bleeding risks, mobility barriers, and unresolved prophylaxis questions to the prescriber and pharmacy.
15. Assess arousal before delirium screening and support reorientation, sensory access, sleep, family involvement, and appropriate mobility.
16. Provide individualized discharge teaching, identify understanding and access barriers, and refer readiness determinations to the authorized clinician.

Who this course is for:

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and other healthcare providers in any setting who want to strengthen postoperative surveillance, recognize changes, and communicate concerns during handoff.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1. 1

   Course overview and learning objectives

2. 2

   Introduction

3. 3

   Surgical Nursing: Postoperative Assessment and Recovery — The Surveillance Role

4. 4

   Pain Assessment and Multimodal Analgesia: Relief Balanced With Safety

5. 5

   Respiratory Complications: Atelectasis, Recognition, and Supported Lung Expansion

6. 6

   Nausea, Vomiting, and Postoperative Ileus: Tracking Gastrointestinal Recovery

7. 7

   Wound Assessment, Impaired Healing, and Dehiscence Recognition

8. 8

   Bleeding and Hemorrhagic Shock: Recognizing Compensation and Escalating Early

9. 9

   Infection and Sepsis Escalation With Venous Thromboembolism Risk Surveillance

10. 10

    Delirium, Urinary Retention, and Safe Discharge Teaching

11. 11

    Nursing Considerations

12. 12

    Conclusion

This Course Satisfies

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. All Users of Fast CE For Less’s website and content are responsible for knowing their state’s license and renewal requirements.

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