(^480) Medical-Surgical Nursing Demystified
infection in the postoperative period. For patients who will have tubes or drains in
place in the postoperative period, a simple explanation of what to expect can help
to alleviate some anxiety.
Availability of pain medication in the postoperative period should be explained
to the patient. In many instances the patient is able to manage his or her own pain
medication. For outpatient procedures, patients may be given a prescription for an
oral pain medication prior to the procedure. This way the medication is available
when the patient gets home from the surgery. For postoperative patients in the
hospital, many patients have an intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, known
as PCA, for pain management, where pain medication is delivered via a pump.
Typically a small basal dose of narcotic is delivered all the time. These patients
also have the ability to press a button whenever they are experiencing pain. The
pump will monitor the amount and timing of each dose of pain medication. If the
patient is due for medication, a dose will be administered; if the patient is not due
for medication, no dose will be administered.
TRANSFER OF THE PATIENT
Most facilities have a preoperative checklist to assist the nurse to make sure that
all the needed components have been checked prior to sending the patient to the
operating room (OR). All pertinent documentation—the signed consent form,
the patient’s chart, and current lab results—accompanies the patient to the OR.
The Intraoperative Period
The intraoperative period is the time involved with the surgical procedure. The
focus during this time is on asepsis and protection of the patient. Within the oper-
ative suite, the staff wears scrub suits. They change into the scrub shirt and pants
when they get to the locker room within the surgical area. A surgical cap covers
hair. Shoe covers are worn to prevent tracking bacteria or dirt from other areas into
the operating rooms.THE SURGICAL TEAM
Members of the surgical team include the surgeon, a surgical assistant, an anesthesi-
ologist or anesthetist, a circulating nurse, a scrub nurse or surgical tech, and a hold-
ing area nurse. The surgeonis the doctor who will perform the surgery. The surgical3