Why do the course

Underlying cardiac disease is common in surgical patients and significantly increases the risk of perioperative complications. This course provides clinicians with comprehensive training in assessing, optimising, and managing cardiac patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, following international guidelines and evidence-based best practice.

Objectives

• Correlate the pathogenesis of hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiac failure, congenital heart disease, valvular lesions and pulmonary hypertension with patient history and clinical examination.
• Design a strategy for the assessment of the cardiac patient requiring non-cardiac surgery.
• Develop a comprehensive perioperative management plan based on the essential components of a thorough examination of the cardiac patient.
• Interpret the findings from perioperative cardiac investigations to classify a patient's perioperative cardiovascular risk.
• Formulate a perioperative management plan for patients with complex respiratory conditions.
• Critically evaluate the findings of perioperative cardiac investigations including echocardiography.
• Develop a framework for recognising and managing arrhythmias that may occur during the perioperative period.
• Construct a plan for the management of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices that are commonly encountered during perioperative care.
• Collaborate as part of a multidisciplinary perioperative medicine team to organise an appropriate perioperative plan to maximise the patient's perioperative outcome.

Course Dates

• April Course: 27 April - 17 July 2026
• August Course: 24 August - 13 November 2026

Information

• 12-week course and 12 modules (one released each week).
• Allows for flexibility in work patterns – once a module is released weekly, lectures and reading material can be viewed at your own pace and at any time.
• Online only; no on-campus attendance required.
• Each module consists of a reading package, journal articles, short videos, podcasts, and interactive knowledge check sections or a combination of these.
• No assessment (nor minimum pass mark).
• All participants have an additional month to complete the modules.
• You can download the Certificate of Completion at the end of the course if you have accessed and completed all the course modules and the final course survey.

Time Commitment:

6 - 8 hours per week (on average)