Perioperative Series: Specimen Handling

Outline:
Section 1: Introduction

About This Course

Learning Objectives

Section 2: Overview and Types of Operative Specimens

Case Study

Preparation and Examination Types

Biopsy Types

Radioactive Material

Medical Devices

Foreign Bodies

Forensic Evidence

Dermatologic Lesions

Products of Conception and Placental Tissue

Infectious Tissue

Tissue for Research

Section 3: Specimen Handling and Transport

Standards of Care

Communication

Transportation

Pathology Review

Challenges in Care

Section 4: Revisiting the Case Study

Section 5: Conclusion

Course Summary

Course Contributors

References

Nicole Strickland, BA, BSN, RN, CPAN has cared for patients at every acuity level over more than a decade as a nurse. She has devoted much of her nursing career to training nurses and nursing students as a Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN). She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Temple University and worked as a medical editor for the National Board of Medical Examiners before returning to school to obtain a BSN from Duke University. She is now pursuing a M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte while continuing her passion for the creation of evidence-based and engaging education as an acute care SME writer at Relias.

Brandy graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Capella University. She is a certified perioperative nurse with versatile skillsets in the circulator and scrub roles for an array of surgical specialties. She fulfilled numerous nursing leadership responsibilities as the Surgical Services Clinical Educator and Periop 101 instructor for UNC REX Healthcare located in NC. She has been an active member of several hospital committees and contributed to numerous process improvement initiatives. She developed her core nursing skills early in her career while working on a postoperative and medical-surgical overflow unit where she served in a variety of roles, including charge nurse, preceptor, Magnet Champion, and admission/discharge facilitator. She currently works as a perioperative SME and course writer at Relias.

Rhiannon Winsor is a subject matter expert in the field of surgical technology and higher education. She has an associate degree in Surgical Technology, a bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing, a master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), and a doctorate in Education with an emphasis in teaching and learning in higher education. She is a certified surgical technologist (CST) and a certified registered sterile processing technician (CRCST). She has 24 years of experience in the field of surgical technology, in which 12 of those years have been spent teaching in and managing surgical technology programs. She has working knowledge in the areas of orthopedics, general, obstetrics, gynecology, plastics, podiatry, sports medicine, neurology, genitourinary, peripheral vascular, ENT, maxillofacial and laparoscopic surgery.