Positive and Negative Nursing Interventions in the Pre-op Area

The pre-operative period is the time the patient stays in the hospital from the time the diagnostic examination is completed, the diagnosis of the disease is made, and the decision to operate is made until the start of the operation. In addition to the primary activities related to the preparation of the patient’s body, it is also the nurse’s responsibility to ensure the psychological well-being of the patient (Butcher et al., 2018). In the medical center where I did my internship, patients were often anxious and fearful about the outcome of surgery. The positive intervention of the nurse I observed was that she introduced the staff involved in the operation to the patient. In addition, she thoroughly explained the rules of preparation for the operation. I consider this to be professional behavior and, therefore, a positive intervention, as the patient can be very stressed before the operation. The medical staff’s responsibility is to ensure the patient’s maximum comfort during all stages of treatment.

In the same context, it is also worth mentioning the experience of the nurse’s negative, or rather not entirely professional intervention during the pre-operative process. One of the patients lacked knowledge of how to behave after the operation and was nervous before the operation. The nurse’s action should have been to teach the patient how to breathe and relax and advise on eating and drinking habits in the post-operative period. Instead, the nurse chose not to explain anything to the patient and thus increased his nervousness. Explaining post-operative procedures to the patient before the operation is the responsibility of the nurses and is also covered by the policy to ensure the patient’s overall comfort.

References

Butcher, H. K., Bulechek, G. M., Dochterman, J., & Wagner, C. M. (2018). Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Elsevier.