Sepsis

Course Overview

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection and can lead to patient mortality. This Ausmed Course enables healthcare professionals to enhance their expertise with the essential skills to effectively understand, assess and manage sepsis in line with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and make a positive impact on patient outcomes.

Topics

• Understanding sepsis and septic shock
• The pathophysiology of sepsis
• Recognition and assessment of a patient with sepsis
• Interventions and management of sepsis and septic shock
• Post-sepsis syndrome

Need

Sepsis is a time-critical medical emergency that affects between 47 and 50 million people yearly, with at least 1 death every 2.8 seconds worldwide. In 2017, there were approximately 55,250 cases and 8,700 sepsis-related deaths in Australia, and national inpatient data shows that sepsis cases are increasing.

Educating healthcare professionals on sepsis can help improve their ability to recognise the signs and symptoms early and implement appropriate interventions promptly. This is reflective of the best practices outlined in NSQHS Standards 3 (Preventing and Controlling Infection) and 8 (Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration).

Early recognition and response can lead to a reduction in morbidity and mortality, better patient outcomes, and decrease the burden on healthcare systems. Therefore, ongoing education and training are crucial for healthcare professionals to provide high-quality care.

Purpose

The purpose of this Ausmed Course is to provide learners with a deeper understanding of the signs, symptoms and interventions for sepsis in line with NSQHS Standards 3 (Preventing and Controlling Infection) and 8 (Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration) in order to efficiently and safely recognise and respond to the deteriorating patient, improve practice and reduce adverse or sentinel events.

Learning Outcomes

• Define sepsis and septic shock, including the systemic pathophysiological response.
• Recognise the signs and symptoms of sepsis and correlate them with the various stages of severity.
• Accurately utilise evidence-based assessment tools in order to facilitate early recognition, assess patients exhibiting signs of sepsis and respond accordingly in an efficient and safe manner.
• Implement best-practice management guidelines in order to prevent deterioration in the patient with sepsis.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the long-term effects of sepsis and best-practice management strategies for the provision of ongoing monitoring and follow-up care.

Target Audience

Nurses, midwives, paramedics and other healthcare professionals looking to increase their understanding of sepsis.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educators

Presented by

Joanne Reading View profile

Joanne Reading is a clinical educator at the Royal Melbourne Hospital ICU. She holds a critical care graduate certificate and a Master of Health Science, with a focus on education. Joanne is passionate about ensuring that education is entertaining as it fosters critical thinking, and runs her own nursing education website at ‘Blogging for your Noggin’.

Peer reviewed by

Renee Di Giuseppe View profile