An integrative review of ambulatory postanesthesia nursing patient outcome research: 1982 to 1993

Specialty nursing practice tends to define itself by a set of competencies believed to be essential by the practitioner. A specialty practice is rarely the result of patient outcome research. Although nurses have been caring for postoperative patients since the early 1900s, a review of published ambulatory postanesthesia patient outcome nursing research has not been reported. As part of a larger study, an integrative review of ambulatory postanesthesia research was conducted to investigate adherence to the scientific method and to examine whether reported research findings link nursing process with patient outcome. Data were collected from identified ambulatory postanesthesia research studies published between 1982 and 1993. The tables of contents from 16 nursing journals were examined to identify published studies. The sample for the integrative review consisted of 28 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Data from the 28 studies were collected independently by two researchers on Ambulatory Post Anesthesia Research Literature Instrument (APARLI) coding sheets developed for the review. Findings indicated that the scientific method was used with varied levels of sophistication. The linkage of nursing process with patient outcome did not appear explicitly in the research studies reviewed.