You're seeing a patient for a preoperative evaluation before an upcoming surgery. The surgeon has requested some testing and documentation—but how do you determine what your patient actually needs before their procedure?
Which patients need additional cardiovascular evaluation? When should you use RCRI or DASI? Do you need to order an ECG, chest X-ray, or routine labs? And how do you document your assessment without saying the patient is "cleared" for surgery?
In this updated episode of Real World NP, we're walking through a practical approach to the preoperative evaluation for noncardiac surgery in primary care, including updated cardiovascular risk assessment recommendations and how to apply them during an actual patient visit.
What You'll Learn:
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
01:32 – Your role in the preoperative evaluation
02:13 – Assessing surgical risk
03:04 – Reasons to pause before surgery
03:58 – Cardiovascular risk assessment: RCRI and ACS NSQIP
04:45 – Functional capacity and DASI
05:24 – Preoperative history and chronic conditions
06:56 – Pulmonary risk assessment
07:25 – Physical exam and selective testing
08:25 – Perioperative medication considerations
09:37 – Documenting the preoperative evaluation
Resources Mentioned:
Preoperative Evaluation Cheat Sheet: A quick-reference guide to surgical risk, cardiovascular assessment, functional capacity, testing, and documentation. Get your copy at www.realworldnp.com/binder
For a full transcript and conversation chapters, visit the blog: https://www.realworldnp.com/blog/preop-exam-nurse-practitioner
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