Responsibility for patient care in perioperative practice

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Perioperative Care
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Operating theatre nurses play a critical role in patient care and safety.
• Understanding their lived experiences of responsibility is crucial for improving perioperative practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore operating theatre nurses' experiences of responsibility for patient care and safety.
• To gain insight into the ethical dimensions of perioperative nursing.

Main Methods:

• Hermeneutic research design.
• Individual interviews with 15 operating theatre nurses in 2012.
• Hermeneutical text interpretation for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Two primary themes emerged: formal external responsibility and personal ethical value.
• Formal responsibility includes risk prevention, protecting the patient's body, and systematic work organization.
• Personal ethical value encompasses confirming the patient as a person, compassionate care, and preserving dignity.

Conclusions:

• Operating theatre nurses possess a profound sense of responsibility that integrates formal duties with personal ethical commitments.
• A key finding is the continuous "patient in mind" awareness among nurses.
• This holistic approach to care underscores the importance of ethical considerations in perioperative nursing.