Development of a postoperative self-assessment form

This paper describes a patient self-assessment form developed for use in a research study examining early discharge and transitional nursing follow-up care for women with abdominal hysterectomy. Transitional care nursing involves preparation for an early discharge from the hospital and nursing follow-up for convalescence at home through an 8-week recovery period. The goal of transitional care is to assist the client in regaining her preoperative level of self-care. This article will include a brief overview of the ongoing research study, a description of the role of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in transitional care, and the use of the self-assessment form. The form is applicable to numerous clinical settings.