Nursing contribution to patient recovery from anaesthesia Essay

Nursing contribution to patient recovery from anaesthesia - Essay Example The key objective of nursing care during the post-anesthetic period is hence centered on ensuring safe recovery of patients following surgery, promoting optimum physical comfort to enable speedier healing among the patients, restoring homeostasis (Miller, 2010) and taking active steps to prevent and/or minimize injuries. Perianesthesia nurses are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the patient recovers safely from anesthesia and are taken care of in the post anesthetic care unit. The patients recovering from anesthesia are highly vulnerable to various complications. The perioperative nurses must hence ensure to take into consideration the patient's age, anesthetic agents, individual health problems etc which may directly impact the post-operative care and give rise to complications such as the risk of hypotension, bronchospasm, etc (Iyer, Levin, and Shea, 2006). The post anesthesia care is typically divided into three phases which include: Phase 1: Early recovery PACU In this stage the patient is transferred from the OR (operating room) to the Post-anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and provided medical assistance immediately after the completion of a surgical procedure (Day, Paul, and Williams, 2009). This phase entails provision of intensive medical care to the patients which is the primary responsibility of the anesthesiologist or anesthetist (O'Connell et al., 2010). Phase 2: Self-care phase / Recovery room In this stage the patient is prepared for self-care or administered care in an extended care setting. The recovery stage may last for several days depending on individual circumstances of each patient (Day, Paul, and Williams, 2009). Phase 3: Discharge In this phase the patient is prepared for discharge from the hospital setting. This phase includes careful planning and handling on the part of the care givers which includes ensuring that the patient is fully restored to their pre-operative stage before discharge (Day, Paul, and Williams, 2009). F ig: Patient recovery from anesthesia – Recovery stage Source: Day, Paul, and Williams (2009: 501) The key role of nurses in ensuring effective recovery of patients from anesthesia is discussed in detail in the following section. Role of recovery nurse in ensuring patient recovery from anesthesia: One of the key requirements of ensuring effective patient recovery from anesthesia is to ensure that nurses have adequate knowledge and awareness regarding the patient's level of anesthesia since such awareness helps them to plan and develop appropriate safety measures (Spry, 2005). The perioperative or post-anesthesia care is one of the vital elements of nursing care. The traditional role and scope of recovery nursing has changed dramatically over the years with the result that the nurses today are required to provide high quality care and display advanced nursing skills with a view to ensure patient safety and speedier recovery. As the complexity of operating procedures increase, t he role of recovery nurses providing post operative care to patients recovering from anesthesia is becoming more and more challenging. The introduction of advanced surgical technology and anesthetic techniques have brought about significant revolutions in enhancing patient satisfaction and shifted the role of nurses from ensuring regular