Preoperative education: preparing patients for a positive experience

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Education
• Patient Care

Background:

• Advanced technology, financial pressures, and increased ambulatory surgeries can overshadow essential preoperative education.
• Preoperative education is crucial for patients, families, physicians, and nurses.
• Effective methods for delivering preoperative education are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a preoperative registration education program implemented at Hartford Memorial Hospital.
• To evaluate the program's impact on patient anxiety, discharge timing, and hospitalization costs.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of a patient-focused preoperative registration education program.
• Assessment of patient anxiety levels pre- and post-education.
• Tracking of patient discharge times and associated hospitalization costs.

Main Results:

• The program successfully decreased patient anxiety.
• Patients experienced earlier discharge from the hospital.
• A notable reduction in hospitalization costs was observed.

Conclusions:

• The Hartford Memorial Hospital's preoperative education program demonstrated significant benefits.
• This patient-focused model can be adapted by other healthcare institutions.
• Preoperative education remains a critical component of nursing practice, even in fast-paced environments.