HHA: Postoperative Care
Presented by Dedee Culley
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Surgeries are performed daily in the United States, and patients are sent home sooner than ever before. Many of these patients require home care assistance, which includes the services of an aide. In this course on postoperative care, the aide will learn to identify the most common types of postoperative patients seen in home care, along with the potential complications these patients are at risk for and how to identify them. The aide will be able to describe the specific personal and safety care considerations required for the patient after surgery to ensure the surgical site and patient are well cared for. Documentation and reporting are important aspects of care the entire home care team needs to understand. In the final section of the course, the aide will learn proper documentation and reporting tips specific to postoperative patients who are being seen in the home.
Meet your instructor
Dedee Culley
Dedee Culley is a registered nurse with more than 19 years of experience, with the last 10 years being specifically in the home health and hospice areas. She has been a field nurse, case manager, educator, and director of operations in agencies. She has also served as a clinical expert analyst for a software vendor, designing…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Case Scenario and Course Overview
As an aide, it is important to know that patients are sent home sooner than ever after having surgery and that many have additional diseases or conditions. This combination makes caring for the postoperative patient more complex. In this chapter, we introduce a case scenario and objectives for the aide to begin learning about this specific patient population.
2. Who Is The Postoperative Patient?
It is important that the aide know and understand the most common complications seen in postoperative patients at home. In this chapter, the aide will learn what the complications are and what their impact is on the aide care plan and patient.
3. Goals of Care
As an aide providing care to any patient, it is important to follow general safety rules. When caring for a postoperative patient at home, there are specific complication concerns to keep in mind as well. In this chapter, we will discuss what these complications are and how to keep the patient safe while providing personal cares.
4. Documentation and Reporting
Documentation and reporting keep the patient safe and ensure the entire home care team knows and understands what is going on with the patient. In this chapter, the aide will be given examples of issues specific to the postsurgical patient that need to be reported to the nursing supervisor.
