Unit 1 
Preparation for Anaesthesia 
WORKSHEET

Page 1

Stop and Think: 
Has the WHO surgical checklist been implemented into your theatre department? 
Could you contribute to patient safety by introducing this to your department? 

 

Page 2

Question: 
At this moment in time, are you suitably qualified practitioner to assist the anaesthetist independently (without supervision)? 

What is your rationale for this?

Make some notes…. 
Take a few minutes to write down what you would like to achieve by undertaking this module. Keep this handy as we will be revisiting this throughout these units of learning. 

Stop and Think: 
Some drugs forming one part of the triad also provide elements of the other two parts which must be taken into consideration...
•	Can you think of an example...?
•	What is the importance of this? 

Page 6

Page 4

Question: 
What drugs are used to achieve the element of unconsciousness? 

Page 3

Question: 
What drugs are commonly used to achieve paralysis (or neuro-muscular blockade)?

Stop and Think: 
If a patient has been administered a non-depolarising muscle relaxant, 
•	How will the anaesthetist assess if they are sufficiently paralysed to be intubated?
•	How does this differ in comparison with a depolarizing muscle relaxant? 

Page 8

Question: 
Now you are aware of what a muscle relaxant is, consider why a patient may require one? 
Think about which type of muscle relaxant may be given in an emergency situation and write down a rationale for your answer. 

 

Page 7

Factor 	Rationale	

		

Make some notes…. 
The type of anaesthetic delivered will depend on a number of factors:
•	Take a moment to write down what these may be e.g. type/length of surgery. 
•	Provide a rationale for each factor

Question: 
How much of your list is ‘individualised’ or more to the point what aspects of care do you provide for every patient?

 

Make some notes…. 
Take a moment or two to jot down some activities that you would consider to be anaesthetic care. 

Page 10

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Page 12

Equipment 	Rationale	

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

Make some notes…. 
Now jot down a quick list of what you think should be in your anaesthetic room – leave a column to the right of your list for a rationale.

Page 13

Area of Practice 	How it differs…	

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

Stop and Think: 
As you are working your way through this section, note down any areas of practice that are different from your own trust. These will make good discussion points later on.

Page 15

Page 19

Checking that Factory Defaults have been restored:
•	How often would you check this? 
•	Why would you change the alarm parameters? 
•	Who would change the alarm parameters? 

Safety Feature 	How it works…	

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

Question:
How well do you know your anaesthetic machine?

Intravenous Access and Infusion:
Look at the items in drawers 1 and 2: Compare this to the items listed in Skills Sections 6.6 and 6.7 of your Practice Assessment Document:
•	Make a list of the items you would expect to see - Are there any items missing?
•	Make brief notes on the function, use, and care of each item.
Equipment 	Function/Use/Checks	

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

Page 21

Page 20

Infection Control:
Take a close look at the picture on Page 20 of the eLearning Unit and jot down any infection control considerations that you can see…

Anaesthetic Drugs:
Take a close look at the picture on Page 15 and jot down any additional drugs that you used in your area…
What are they used for? 

Page 22

Additional Equipment 	Rationale	

		

Page 23

Question:
Have we got everything ready? What have we forgotten?