Procedural Sedation and Analgesia

Core Principles and Pharmacological Options

Please note there is a new version of the course.

View 2025 CPD Courses

The course is an accredited learning activity for 6.5 hours for medical and nursing continuing professional development.

For GPs the course is an accredited CPD activity for the 2023-2025 triennium with ACRRM (Course Code : 29363 : 3.5 Educational Activity and 3 Reviewing Performance Hours) and RACGP (Course Code : 441469: 3.5 Educational Activity and 3 Reviewing Performance Hours).

Latest Course update : January 2024

This course is suited to Medical, Nursing and Paramedic staff wishing to upskill in Procedural Sedation

Procedural Sedation describes the administration of drugs in a controlled setting to reduce pain and / or awareness. In the emergency department it is used for a wide variety of procedures including laceration repair, reduction and immobilisation of fractures or dislocations, incision and drainage procedures, wound exploration and removal of foreign bodies from the eye, ear, nose and skin. Procedural sedation is most often used in healthy adults and children (> 3 months) and those with mild well-controlled systemic disease (eg asthma).

The sedative agents most commonly used for procedural sedation are Midazolam +/- Fentanyl, Propofol, Ketamine and Ketofol. This course examines the indications, contraindications for procedural sedation, assessment, monitoring and after care of the patient undergoing procedural sedation and examine in detail the common drugs used for procedural sedation.

This course explores the following topics :

• 1. Parenteral Procedural Sedation : Core Principles

• 2. Intravenous Sedation using Midazolam / Fentanyl

• 3. Intravenous Sedation using Propofol

• 4. Parenteral Sedation using Ketamine

• 5. Intranasal Sedation using Midazolam, Fentanyl, Ketamine

• 6. Intravenous Regional Anaesthesia - Bier Block