Self-efficacy enhanced preoperative instruction

Perioperative nurses traditionally have helped patients cope with the adversities of surgery through preoperative instruction. The authors conducted a study to determine whether an efficacy-enhancing preoperative teaching protocol was effective in increasing preoperative self-efficacy in patients scheduled to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedures with general anesthesia. The subjects were 60 surgical patients in a 156-bed community hospital located in the midwestern United States. Analysis of covariance indicated there were no significant differences between groups after controlling for preoperative self-efficacy. Further research is needed to determine whether an efficacy-enhancing teaching protocol can improve selected short- and long-term outcomes in surgical patients.