Children need to be prepared for surgery. They often react emotionally to the prospect of surgery. Children need to be prepared physically, intellectually and emotionally for their surgery experience. A surgical experience can be a positive event if children and family members are well informed about the surgery, and are aware of the events associated with the surgery. It also will be positive if the children and family members’ worries and fears are discussed and understood, and they are able to create some familiarity with the medical staff associated with their
In my experience I suffered an inability to cough, anorexia, changes in taste and diet, being limited in walking and mobilising and general and mental malaise. I even surprised myself by worrying about my body image due to the size of the scar on my abdomen. Although these experiences were personal to me, I assumed that many of these conditions and thoughts are typical and would have been equally suffered by the teenager that I cared for. Nothing was mentioned at any time to me pre- or post-operatively about any of these experiences.
This clinical rotation I was assigned to observe at the operating room, where they conduct various surgical procedures. The night prior to the clinical, I have to admit, was every bit unnerving. Especially, the fear of not knowing what to expect was daunting. There must have been a thousand scenario of what to expect or what might possibly go wrong playing through my head that night. However, after being introduced to the nurse I would be following, and meeting the surgeon and the rest of the team; my nerves settled down. The surgery scheduled was for a ventral hernia, which seemed routine, but complicated by a previous bowel realignment previously. The whole operation, from beginning to end, lasted a little over four hours. Although, the procedure lasted that long, it did not bother me even bit. In spite of standing for the whole duration of the observation, I never felt tired nor gotten bored. Notably, watching the surgical team working cohesively is like watching an artists who have
The appropriate assessment of patients prior to surgery to identify coexisting medical problems and to plan peri-operative care is of increasing importance. The goals of peri-operative assessment are to identify important medical issues in order to optimise their treatment, inform the patient of the risks associated with surgery, and ensure care is provided in an appropriate environment secondly to identify important social issues which may have a bearing on the planned procedure and the recovery period and to familiarise the patient with the planned procedure and the hospital processes.(American Society of Anaesthesiologists)
The pre-operative stage is an important phase in patient’s surgery process. This is the time where the patients is experiencing a lot of anxiety issues and have questions regarding the impending procedure. To help ensure good patient outcomes, it is imperative to provide complete preoperative instructions and discharge instructions (Allison & George, 2014). It is the nurses’ duty to safe guard and protects the patient’s welfare during the surgical experience. Effective preoperative preparation is known to enhance postoperative pain management and recovery. Health professionals need to be cognizant of the contextual factors that influence patients’ preoperative experiences and give context appropriate care (Aziato & Adejumo, 2014).
I went into this research paper thinking someone could tell me what a typical day would be like, but I learned that there is no typical day. Your patients are so diverse that they could have any number of varying conditions. You are working with children that could be days old all the way up to early adolescence. Each age group is treated differently, so this adds up a lot of variety to your day.(citytowninfo.com) Kids are so resilient, after you have had to take blood from them, give them a shot, or put in an IV. They can get so scared of you, but then you then they just jump back and have that one moment where they look at you and they give you a smile and you and the child both know everything is okay.
This study will adopt a literature review methodology, for critical and analytical assessment of the recent studies carried with a relevant outcomes to this study and particularly, studies that determine the effective methods of three intervention (parental presence, Sedative premedication and distraction) to alleviate preoperative anxiety of children. Siu and Comerasamy (2013) stated that literature review methodology is documented as essential methodological process to resolve research problems. Furthermore, contributing to improvement of knowledge in area of practice (Aveyard and 2014).
Children have multiple or prolonged exposure to trauma, experience various symptoms and reactions, and long for progressive techniques to heal their pain.
After the procedure I went to visit her and she was high as a kite and looked horrible. She was visibly in pain and did not want to be in that situation but when everyone else was weak she remained strong. Once she got out of the hospital the recovery seemed much easier. Instead of being negative this time she was positive and let her friends and family help her through her hard time. She leaned on the Lord to be her strength and her healer and grew tremendously through her recovery. She used her struggle to minister to others by being a positive
Demi, I agree this can be a terrifying time for Makayla’s parents. It is important for a nurse to be a resource as well as be comforting to the parents. Educating the parents concerning this condition and the treatment procedure is both resourceful and comforting. In addition, I would educate the parents on what to expect following the procedure. My research revealed several expectations after surgery. After a successful pyloromyotomy, her parents can expect IV fluids to be administered until she is able to eat. They can also expect to feed her within 24-48 hours after surgery (Mayo Clinic). Perhaps most importantly, they can expect Makayla to have some vomiting initially after the surgery due to surgical swelling (Kids Health). Without expecting or anticipating some emesis, the parents may become anxious believing that the surgery was ineffective.
It has been documented that children undergoing surgery and their families experience high levels of distress and perioperative anxiety. Stress and perioperative anxiety have the potential to cause more harm on post-surgical healing, in consideration of both physical and mental health, if not addressed promptly and properly. Child Life Specialists are pediatric healthcare professionals who are able to provide interventions to help reduce anxiety and increase developmental growth within pediatric patients, provide family centered care, and facilitating therapeutic play interventions for pediatric patients, all the while in the hospital environment (Child Life Council, 2014). Child life specialists are able to meet these values and missions to create a standard of practice that the American Pediatric Association recommends in all pediatric healthcare settings (Child Life Council, 2014). Typically, when child life specialists are working with pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures they are able to participate as a part of the multidisciplinary health team to provide family centered care and increase a patient and their families understanding on the medical procedure at hand. A common intervention for pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures include medical play and medical preparation sessions.
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).
Spending the day in the operating room (OR) can be an exhilarating experience, throughout this paper I will discuss the different aspects of surgery as you follow my journey. I will discuss pre- operative care and testing preformed; operative care, anesthesia, and possible complication; and post-operative care and recovery.
I always harbored a desire to become a doctor, and this path was solidified when I shadowed a pediatric neurosurgeon. As I observed Dr. Piatt perform two craniotomies, the coordination among the medical professionals during surgery reminded me of the teamwork I loved playing soccer. Our team was most effective when each player understood her role and how it supported others, and now I saw that cohesiveness and communication get results in the operating room as well. I knew I had to be a part of
One might think of surgery as simple as going to the hospital and receiving a complex operation that saves ones life or improves their quality of life. What most people do not realize is the hardships that those people go through unless they had surgery performed on them themselves, and same thing for the surgeons it is not easy for them as well, even though they are professional and highly trained.
MedicineNet analyzes mental health risks as a result of unrealistic expectations of surgery. When a person engages in plastic surgery on the wrong grounds, they tend to be unsatisfied with their results. This causes stress and sometimes depression on the patient, which can also affect their physical health, due to delayed and/or prolonged healing time. It is critical for plastic surgeons to be specifically trained in psycho-therapy. During an initial consultation, the doctor must first determine whether the patient is emotionally stable. They look for things such as age, development, mental illness, whether the patient is realistic towards the outcome, whether the patient has recently undergone any sort of traumatic event, or any other factor capable affecting their mental health. Once this is assessed and the patient is cleared for surgery a whole new array of problems arise.