Jonathan West

Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand

Title: The benefits of integrating pathology into perioperative nursing education

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Biography

Jonathan West is a senior anatomical pathology registrar based in Christchurch New Zealand. He is passionate about healthcare education and has previously held teaching positions at the Universities of St Andrews and Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Jonathan works closely with perioperative nurses in Christchurch hospital to deliver teaching on subjects inclusive of specimen handling, labelling and correct container sizing. He is particularly interested in making operating theatres and laboratories more environmentally sustainable

Abstract

Background: The role of the perioperative nurse is broad and dynamic, involving responsibilities for patient care preoperatively, intraoperatively and postoperatively1. For this reason, the education provided to perioperative nursing staff is diverse and includes teaching on all aspects of perioperative patient care2. One aspect of postoperative care is the handling and transfer of specimens to pathology laboratories. However, few specific teaching programmes exist on this aspect of specimen management3. As pathology encompasses many different disciplines4, such as genomics, anatomical and chemical pathology, specimen handling requirements can vary for different indications and tissue types. Incorrect specimen handling can result in inaccurate testing, affecting the final test outcome and negatively impacting patient care.

Aims: To outline how pathology can be integrated into perioperative nursing education, and the benefits that come from this.

Methods: A novel perioperative pathology teaching series encompassing lectures on specimen handling, formalin fixation and different pathology specialties was created in Christchurch. These were complemented by integrated anatomical pathology laboratory tours and microscope review sessions. A free to access educational YouTube video was created on correct specimen container sizing and how this can minimise plastic waste and carbon emissions.

Results: Pathology education is now part of onboarding for all new perioperative nursing staff in Christchurch hospital. Surveys were conducted to assess baseline pathology knowledge, and improvements made post teaching and laboratory tours. Specimens arriving in containers too small for fixation has reduced from 36% pre-teaching to consistently below 10% on repeat audits.

Conclusion: Adopting a multimodal pathology education programme allows different aspects of perioperative specimen care to be addressed. This can minimise specimen handling errors, reduce unnecessary waste and foster improved relationships between perioperative nursing and pathology teams.