Continued contact with a familiar nurse affects women's perceptions of the ambulatory surgical experience: a...

Ambulatory surgery patients tend to have different nurses providing care during each phase of the surgical stay. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact continued contact with a familiar nurse, from preadmission procedures through postoperative awakening to consciousness in the PACU, had on women's postdischarge evaluations of their ambulatory surgical experience. The study consisted of a convenience sample of 40 women between the ages of 19 and 68 years scheduled to receive general anesthesia. Women in the continued contact group (n = 20) reestablished contact with the familiar nurse when arriving at the ambulatory surgery unit (ASU) 1 hour before surgery and they maintained continued contact with that nurse while awakening to consciousness in the PACU. A postdischarge telephone interview was conducted with women in both groups 3 to 5 days following surgery. chi 2 Analysis found that women who had continued contact with a familiar nurse reported being ready to go home when discharged from the ASU significantly more often than women in the control group (P less than .05). By t test analysis, women in the continued contact group reported greater satisfaction with the nursing care received (P less than .01). Women in both groups also talked about their ambulatory surgical experience. The data are presented descriptively. Findings indicated that receiving continued contact with a familiar nurse significantly affected women's postdischarge evaluations of their ambulatory surgical experience compared with receiving standard nursing care in the study hospital.