The Surgical Journey And Nursing Considerations - 1732 Words

A patient’s journey throughout the surgical process can often be a frightening and unpredictable time in a person’s life (Short Gordon, 2015). It is therefore vital for nurses to provide holistic and safe patient centred care, in order to meet the needs of each patient through their experience (Short Gordon, 2015). The following essay will explore the surgical journey and nursing considerations of a patient undergoing a surgical procedure. Firstly, it will address important nursing factors relevant to the preadmission and perioperative stages of care. It will then address relevant nursing factors relevant to the anaesthetic stages of care, during the surgical process. The case study is based on a five-year-old Australian boy named†¦show more content†¦The first step in the surgical process is a visit to the preadmission clinic. This is where James and his mother will meet with nursing and medical staff to begin planning and assessing for potential risk factors and complications that may arise during surgery. Firstly, a health questionnaire will be performed, where James’s mother will be asked a range of questions outlining James’s past medical history, current medications, previous issues with anaesthetics and infections. James’s weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen saturations and blood sugar level will also be recorded, in order to assess the current health status of the child. It is important that these assessment findings are correctly documented, scanned and uploaded to the patient’s files, so information can be reviewed and revisited on the day of surgery (Chand, 2014). The pre admission stage is an important time for sharing vital information with patients and family on the preparation for surgery and also the management of medical conditions pre and post operatively (Emanuel MacPherson, 2013). James was born with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM), which can be defined as a chronic autoimmune disease causing the immune system to attack the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas (Zaccone,