NR 224 RUA July 2020.docx NR 224 Speak Up: Anesthesia and Sedation Chamberlain College

NR 224 RUA July 2020.docx  NR 224  Speak Up: Anesthesia and Sedation  Chamberlain College of Nursing  NR 224 - Fundamentals: Skills   Introduction   On June 14th, The Joint Commission added and updated one of their Speak Up brochures. This brochure includes useful information regarding anesthesia and sedation. The information includes numerous easy to understand definitions, recommendations, and instructions regarding anesthesia and sedation with surgeries/procedures. Although this brochure seems to be aimed toward adult clients, the information provided is a good base to help in the understanding of anesthesia and sedation.   Summary  Anesthesia and sedation are among one of the most important things to understand when preparing for a procedure. Anesthesia is a state of a controlled temporary loss of sensation and awareness and sedation is the depression of awareness and response to external stimuli becomes limited. Sedation is achieved by one category/class of drugs and may be used with anesthesia (The Joint Commission, 2020). In a sedative state, the patient can maintain their respiratory functioning, their muscles become relaxed. One thing to keep in mind is that there are three different types of anesthesia regional, local, and general. A regional anesthetic is used to produce the loss of feeling in a specific region, typically in the spot that requires surgery. A local anesthetic blocks nerve impulses in a localized/small area and a general anesthetic are medications that induce and can maintain