Understanding One Day Surgery: Procedures and Patient Care

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One Day Surgery Sheri D. Nicks Langston University, Tulsa NR 4335 September 18, 2015 Saint John’s One Day Surgery (ODS) offers patients a convenient and efficient same day surgical procedure that allows most patients to return home on the same day to recover. The objectives of this paper is to describe the physical environment of the ODS unit and explain the unit’s criteria so that the patient’s surgery may proceed as planned. It will also discuss some of the many roles of the ODS nurse and list one actual diagnosis and two potential nursing diagnoses, with associated supporting evidence, for a patient in the ODS on this particular day. This paper will conclude with my personal experience, both positive and negative, during …show more content…

Depending on the time of surgery, the nurse may admit and discharge the same patient within the timeframe of his or her shift. The nurse obtains a history and physical (H&P) along with the progress notes from the operating surgeon or another licensed personnel written within the last twenty-four hours. The nurse sets the patient up with a peripheral intravenous line before surgery. He or she will interview the patient regarding the last time they ate and/or drank, what medications they take, and when the last medication dose was taken. The nurse also assesses the patient to see if he or she understands the procedure they are there for and asks if they have any questions or concerns. Depending on the health of the patient and what surgical procedure they will be subjected to, either a focused or full health assessment is performed. The nurse also makes sure that all labs pertinent to the patient have been obtained. These labs include a negative pregnancy test (or proof of a negative test within the last seven days) for any patient that could possibly be pregnant, even if the patient is currently menstruating, a finger-stick blood sugar test for all diabetic patients, a blood test for potassium levels for patients with end stage renal disease, and a prothrombin time or international normalized ratio test for patients on Coumadin. The nurse also makes sure that …show more content…

I enjoyed interacting with the patients, and my nurse. Karie, was amazing. She explained to me everything she did. The routine for each patient was very similar, and this repetition helped me anticipate what Karie needed and helped me feel fairly confident in assisting her with the new patients and their needs. On the other hand, I was extremely disappointed that I was not given the opportunity to administer an intravenous (IV) line. Karie was willing to allow me the opportunity after I watched her place an IV in three different patients, but her fourth patient was transported from a different hospital with peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line in place. It was beginning to get late in the day and the patients coming in was slowing down, so Karie told the nurses at the nursing station that I needed to practice IV’s, but no one had any to give. Although I was disappoint that the opportunity to insert an IV into a patient did not arise, I did gain much knowledge regarding the ODS unit. I am now familiar with the physical layout of the unit and what takes place with patients that go there. I know the role of the nurse. I was also given an opportunity to practice nursing diagnoses on a

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