Empowerment in the perioperative dialog.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Anesthesiology
• Patient Empowerment

Background:

• Perioperative dialogue is crucial for patient care.
• Understanding nurse anesthetist roles in patient empowerment is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe how nurse anesthetists empower patients within the perioperative dialogue.
• To explore the specific actions and communication strategies employed by nurse anesthetists.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive design.
• Interviews conducted with 12 nurse anesthetists.
• Hermeneutic text interpretation utilizing Gibson's empowerment model.

Main Results:

• Nurse anesthetists function across multiple domains: Helper, Supporter, Counsellor, Educator, Resource Consultant, Resource Mobilizer, Facilitator, Enabler, and Advocate.
• A strong patient-nurse anesthetist relationship, built on closeness, is key to empowerment.
• Empowerment involves helping patients master situations, find strengths, cope with fears, and maintain autonomy.
• Nurse anesthetists protect and advocate for patients when they cannot protect themselves.

Conclusions:

• Nurse anesthetists play a vital role in empowering patients throughout the perioperative journey.
• Effective communication and a supportive relationship are central to patient empowerment in anesthesia care.
• Gibson's empowerment model provides a useful framework for understanding the nurse anesthetist's contribution to patient autonomy and well-being.