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A Multidisciplinary Approach to Paediatric Perioperative Medicine

Explore the perioperative journey, from preoperative assessment to postoperative recovery, to improve paediatric care with UCL.

366 enrolled on this course

Child walking to theatres with their Mother and a Doctor

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Paediatric Perioperative Medicine

366 enrolled on this course

  • 5 weeks

  • 4 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    5 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more

Improve paediatrics with a multidisciplinary approach to perioperative medicine

Surgery can be an overwhelming experience for any patient, let alone a child. However providing compassionate and individualised perioperative paediatric care ensures comfort, manages well-being, and helps optimise patient outcomes.

This five-week course from the University College London (UCL) takes a multidisciplinary approach and applies it to paediatric care, helping healthcare professionals make young patients and their families feel supported throughout their perioperative journey.

Gain essential preoperative planning strategies

A child’s journey to surgery includes careful preoperative planning and tailored postoperative management. On this course, you’ll gain tools and expert insights to deliver successful patient outcomes.

First, you’ll understand an adolescent surgical patient’s unique anatomical, physiological, psychological and social needs.

This will help aid in your completion of preoperative assessments and assist with communicating risks and consent to their guardians.

Support your medical team during paediatric surgery and postoperative recovery

Next, you’ll focus on surgical best practices like safe anaesthesia administration and adolescent airway management.

During the course you’ll equip yourself with the tools to oversee postoperative care by identifying complications, aiding with analgesia and pain management, and responding to emergencies.

Make a difference in specialised paediatric medicine

This course also offers additional training in specialised areas of paediatric care, including trauma, neonatal, cardiac, neuro, and transplant surgery.

By the end of this course, you’ll feel confident in your ability to navigate the complexities of paediatric perioperative care, ensuring optimal outcomes for young patients and their families.

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Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Introduction

    • A child walks to theatre with their doctor and mother

      Welcome

      Meet our course creators

    • Introducing the child

      Understanding anatomical, physiological and emotional needs of the paediatric patient.

    • Introducing anaesthetic equipment

      An introduction to the basis of anaesthetic equipment and airway management.

    • Different age categories

      Exploring the physical and psychological differences between neonates, infants, toddlers, children and adolescents.

    • A child watches a tablet device whilst a parent subtly helps give an inhalational anaesthetic

      Special considerations in children

      Discussing children with extra needs.

    • Final considerations and summary

      Takeaway messages and testing your knowledge from week 1.

  • Week 2

    Pre-operative

    • Preoperative assessment

      Delving into the world of preoperative assessment and the unique areas in paediatric practice.

    • Perioperative anxiety

      Understanding and identifying perioperative anxiolysis and ways to prevent and tackle the matter.

    • Consent

      Consent in children, challenges and what it is all about.

    • Following the child through to theatres

      In this section we follow the child through the beginning of their perioperative journey.

    • Meet the team and the environment

      Meet the key players in the theatre team, understanding human factors and preparing the environment for the child requiring intervention.

    • Final considerations and summary

      Takeaway messages and testing your knowledge from week 2.

  • Week 3

    Intra-operative

    • Paediatric inhalational induction

      Induction and maintenance of anaesthesia

      Induction and maintenance of anaesthesia. In this section we discuss inhalation and total intravenous anaesthesia techniques and understanding their respective benefits and risks.

    • fibre optic scope passed through a laryngeal mask airway

      The paediatric airway

      Understanding the paediatric airway. We explore basic to advanced airway techniques.

    • Regional anaesthesia

      Drugs, regional anaesthesia and intra-operative emergencies

      Here we discuss anaesthetic drugs, regional anaesthesia and anaesthetic emergencies.

    • Surgeons operating

      Paediatric surgery

      We discuss elective and emergency surgery. Here we meet the surgeons and they tell us their experiences.

    • surgeons operating

      Final considerations and summary

      Takeaway messages and testing your knowledge from week 3.

  • Week 4

    Post-operative

    • Recovery

      Meet our recovery team and the importance of training. What determines daycase vs inpatient stay.

    • Recovery issues

      Recovery problems and finding solutions.

    • Analgesia

      Exploring the analgesic ladder, acute vs chronic pain.

    • Surgical complications

      We discuss surgical complications, the surgeons perceptive, and the psychological impact it has on the child. We discuss rehabilitation and introduce the idea of transitioning from paediatric to adult services.

    • Remote site

      Exploring remote site anaesthesia and its challenges.

    • Final considerations and summary

      Takeaway messages and testing your knowledge from week 4.

  • Week 5

    Special circumstances

    • Trauma team illustration

      ED & Trauma

      We explore emergency medicine and trauma in the paediatric patient.

    • The Neonate

      Understanding the neonatal anatomical and physiological differences. We look at emergency situations for the neonate, anaesthesia and surgical considerations for this patient group.

    • Cardiac perfusion device

      Cardiac surgery

      We discuss cardiac conditions in the child and anaesthetic management for this patient subgroup.

    • Post neurosurgery MRI head image

      Neurosurgery

      Understanding children with neurological conditions. We look at children subjected to head trauma and discuss neurosurgical emergencies.

    • Kidney being perfused before transplant

      Transplant surgery

      Considerations of children after transplant surgery.

    • Final considerations and summary

      Takeaway messages and testing your knowledge from week 5.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Improve your understanding of paediatric perioperative medicine
  • Explore the subtleties and nuances of the paediatric patient and how to care for them appropriately
  • Assess your knowledge of paediatric perioperative care before and after completion of the course
  • Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to understand the complexities of the paediatric perioperative journey
  • Compare your current practices in paediatric perioperative management and take away learning points from this course to improve your practice
  • Debate with other learners about current practices and ways to improve care
  • Develop your understanding in paediatric perioperative medicine and the journey of the child. Find ways to improve overall safety and positive patient outcomes
  • Demonstrate learning through quizzes and tests throughout the course
  • Model new learning in your own institutes
  • Evaluate areas of preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of the paediatric patient
  • Modify patient experiences and safety through this course
  • Reflect on your own experiences and what you can take from this course when managing a paediatric patient
  • Summarise the journey of a child through hospital including the special areas we discuss in the final week

Who is the course for?

This intermediate-level course is designed for healthcare professionals interested in expanding their perioperative expertise.

It may also be helpful for parents of paediatric patients hoping to be better informed of their child’s perioperative journey.

Who will you learn with?

Who developed the course?

UCL logo

UCL (University College London)

UCL was founded in 1826. It was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, and the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it.

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$109/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 13 Mar 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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