The purpose of the course is to teach participants how to apply principles of operations research to solve problems in the operating room and the perioperative environment:

• Monitoring operational and financial performance of surgical suites and anesthesia groups (“descriptive analytics”)
  
  
• Forecasting case durations, time remaining in cases, use of staffed OR time (“predictive analytics”)
  
  
• Applying principles of operations research to make common decisions, such as staffing levels, block time planning, case scheduling and assignment, financial management, and strategic planning (“prescriptive analytics”).

The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.