[The current status and problems of nursing for outpatients department of oral surgery of dental university hospitals in Japan].
Recently, the need for outpatient nursing services attached to general clinics has increased because of the shortening of hospitalization periods and the promotion of home care. The number of outpatients in the field of oral surgery is expected to continue increasing as the number of elderly patients increases and hospitalization periods decrease; therefore, the quality of outpatient nursing services must be improved. In the present study, a questionnaire was distributed to dental university hospitals, to clarify the present condition of outpatient nursing services in the department of oral surgery. The results of the survey showed that nurses routinely provide treatment at oral surgery outpatient clinics, where they perform pre-hospitalization orientations, consultations, and instruction and guidance for patients. Outpatient nurses must be able to help a wide range of patients, from children to the elderly; the contents of the consultations, instructions and guidance performed by the nurses, are also wide-ranging, including social life issues and oral disability rehabilitation. Thus, the various types of support care performed by nurses play an important role in the efficacy of oral surgery outpatient clinics, by contributing to maintenance and improvement of patients' social life and quality of life. However, the survey also found that outpatient services sometimes suffer from a lack of resources, including personnel and facilities. Furthermore, a fee-charging system for nursing services does not presently exist. Active cooperation between dental professionals and oral surgery clinic nurses, and strong appeals to hospital administrative departments, are thus necessary to resolve these problems.
Aoki
Harue
H
Department of Adult Nursing/Terminal and Long-Term Care Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo.
Ohta
Kinuyo
K
Kazuma
Keiko
K
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000451:nursing*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000451:nursing*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D013503:Surgery Department, Hospital; D013515:Surgery, Oral; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires