Patient assessment for day surgery.
Following medical selection of a patient for day surgery in either a hospital out-patient clinic or general practitioner surgery, the patient requires assessment. This is usually achieved in one of two ways. The patient may be sent a postal questionnaire which is followed up on the telephone if a query occurs or he or she attends an assessment interview in the day surgery unit (D.S.U.) with a member of the nursing staff. From personal experience as a nurse teacher, patient assessment for day surgery is the one area of concern for theatre nurses if they are asked to work in the day surgery unit. This article is a brief overview of this area. Initially, assessment will be defined. Following this, patient assessment in the theatre setting will be compared with assessment of a patient about to undergo day surgery. To conclude, a summary of selected nursing competencies will be listed for successful day surgery patient assessment.
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D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000451:nursing*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009871:Operating Room Nursing / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012720:Severity of Illness Index