Presentation Rationale

Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to educate and inform my audience of the risks inherent from unintended hypothermia. I’m eager to alert perioperative staff of the potential dangers as well as the preventative measures that can be taken in order to avoid complications associated with unintended hypothermia. My central idea is hypothermia management saves lives.
Intended Audience: My ideal audience for this speech would be those medical professionals working in the perioperative area.
Significance: This topic is very significant to my audience because our patients’ outcomes are directly related to our competency in this area. Knowledge of what measures are to be implemented to avoid unintended hypothermia in the perioperative setting will greatly decrease our infection rates and shorten length of stay.
Presentation Plan I. Introduction
a. Audience hook: Did you know hypothermia is associated with a threefold increase in SSIs and it is estimated that SSIs increase postoperative hospitalization by an average of 4 days? (Hart et al., 2011)
b. Thesis statement: Research suggests that intraoperative temperature management should be closely monitored because unintended hypothermia leads to increased risk for infection and increased length of stay.
c. Preview of Main points:
i. Unintended hypothermia leads to increased risk for infection. ii. Unintended hypothermia leads to increased length of stay.
II. Main Point 1: Unintended hypothermia leads to increased risk for infection. a. Clinical trials have shown that even mild hypothermia increases the incidence of adverse events including surgical site infections. (Bulingame et. al., 2015).
i. Nitrogen loss and hypokalemia caused by hypothermia can cause a predisposition to wound infection(Phillips, 2015). ii. Anesthetics have