CNOR study plan

Differentiate general, regional, local, and moderate-sedation anesthesia and state the circulating nurse's responsibilities for each.

Match commonly used anesthetic agents and adjuncts to their expected physiologic effects and adverse reactions.

Describe safe positioning for eight common surgical positions, listing pressure points, nerve-injury risks, and required padding/devices.

Interpret intraoperative monitoring data (capnography, pulse oximetry, ECG, temperature, invasive and noninvasive blood pressure) and state the nursing response to abnormal values.

Explain the nurse's role in hemostasis, drain and sponge management, and count initiation during the intraoperative phase.

Assign the correct surgical wound classification to 20 case scenarios and justify each choice.

Select nursing interventions that prevent intraoperative surgical site infection, including skin antisepsis, sterile technique, traffic control, normothermia, and antibiotic timing.

Determine correct labeling, handling, and preservation for at least six specimen types, including frozen section and cultures.

Interpret common preoperative laboratory and diagnostic results (CBC, coagulation studies, electrolytes, glucose, HbA1c, ECG, chest radiograph) and state their perioperative implications.

Perform a structured preoperative assessment (history, medications, allergies, comorbidities, airway, functional status, cultural and psychosocial factors) for 15 patient vignettes.

Prioritize nursing diagnoses for each vignette and defend the rankings using assessment data.

Construct individualized perioperative plans of care that include measurable patient outcomes, interventions, and evaluation criteria.

Verify the elements of informed consent and identify situations in which consent is invalid or must be re-obtained.

Design a preoperative teaching plan for three common procedures, addressing anxiety, pain expectations, and discharge instructions.

Audit plan-of-care and documentation elements against recognized perioperative and accreditation standards.

Apply the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice to ten clinical scenarios and state the appropriate action.

Distinguish scope-of-practice, delegation, supervision, and legal and regulatory requirements that govern perioperative nursing.

Explain certification maintenance, continuing education, evidence-based practice, and research utilization responsibilities.

Sequence the workflow from point of use through decontamination, inspection, assembly, packaging, sterilization, and sterile storage, stating parameters for each step.

Differentiate steam, ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide, and peracetic acid sterilization and the mechanical, chemical, and biological monitoring required for each.

Apply the Spaulding classification, packaging and labeling rules, and shelf-life and event-related sterility concepts to 15 instrument sets and devices.

Recall immediate interventions for malignant hyperthermia, anaphylaxis, local anesthetic systemic toxicity, and intraoperative cardiac arrest, including first-line drug and dose.

Sequence team roles and interventions for surgical fire, airway fire, massive hemorrhage, venous air embolism, tension pneumothorax, and loss of power or equipment failure.

Apply crisis resource management principles (closed-loop communication, explicit role assignment, callouts, debriefing) to two simulated emergency drills.

Deliver a structured SBAR handoff for ten transfer scenarios spanning PACU, ICU, and inpatient units.

Identify required transfer-of-care documentation elements and the monitoring and equipment needed during patient transport.

Document intraoperative events to standard, including count reconciliation, implants, sharps, specimens, and time-out verification.

Apply standardized communication processes (time-out, briefing, debriefing, structured handoff) to ten documentation scenarios.

Apply staffing, scheduling, budgeting, inventory, and supply-chain principles to management-style case questions.

Select conflict-resolution, delegation, and staff education or mentoring strategies appropriate to given personnel scenarios.

Complete two full-length timed practice examinations under test-day conditions.

Remediate every missed item by domain and rewrite condensed notes for the three weakest domains.

Recite high-yield facts from memory, including surgical counts, sterilization parameters, and emergency drug doses.

Finalize exam-day logistics, including scheduling, identification requirements, and a test-taking time-allocation strategy.