1. Jorge
Post-operative care is the medical care given to a patient after surgery. Nurses perform a variety of tasks during the post-operative care process. The main objectives of post-operative care are to promote wound healing, avoid post-operative complications like infections, and possibly help patients regain their health (Jung & Chung, 2020). Post-operative care gives patients who have had medical surgery pain relief, as stated in its definition. As part of the post-operative aftercare procedures, it is made sure that patients are comfortable wherever they may be. The process includes planning, intervention, and outcome evaluation. Patients require treatment after surgery, including during the operation and while recovering in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (Mani, Mani, Sachdeva, Sodhi, Vora & Gholap, 2021). The PACU receives a patient immediately after surgery. The nurse should update the patient’s condition in the room. The patient’s level of consciousness and the health of their airways must be determined at this point. These duties entail watching for any nausea or vomiting symptoms, keeping an eye on the patient’s body temperature, and ensuring the tube drains appropriately. The kind of procedure, how long it takes, the patient’s level of consciousness, and the degree of regional anesthesia all affect how long a patient can stay in the PACU.
Patients require sufficient information regarding post-operative care and how it will be taken. If they experience pain, painkillers may also be used to treat them. Nurses will need to continue monitoring the patient’s condition throughout this phase to guarantee that the dressing is appropriate, drainage is being monitored, and no infections are present. The nurse in charge of patient monitoring must follow the surgeon’s instructions after the hospitalized patient is transferred from the PACU. The incision, drainage tubes, respiratory status, pain status, and other significant signs of post-operative outcomes should be evaluated every one to two hours for at least the first eight hours (Thackeray & Miller, 2019). The state of the respiratory system is evaluated in addition to fluid intake and output, a review of lung sounds, and a chest excursion.
Immediate pain management is crucial to avoid post-operative complications. A common side effect of surgery before and after the procedure is acute psychological anxiety. Anxiety plays a significant role in human development from conception to death and serves as a vital source of energy for both biological and emotional growth (McCarthy, Zhang, Soliz & Lovinaria, 2020). This ensures that the patient leaves the hospital in good condition following surgery because they are only allowed to leave the PACU when they meet predetermined criteria for discharge, as determined by a scale. This ensures the patient’s safety throughout the entire procedure.
References
Jung, J., & Chung, Y. (2020). Effects of combining both mobilization and hold-relax technique on the function of post-surgical patients with shoulder adhesive capsulitis. Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science, 9(2), 90-97.
Mani, A., Mani, S., Sachdeva, S., Sodhi, J. K., Vora, H. R., & Gholap, S. (2021). Post-surgical care in surgical periodontics. IP International Journal of Periodontology and Implantology, 6(2), 74-78.
McCarthy, K., Zhang, W., Soliz, J., & Lovinaria, D. (2020). Pancreatic surgery in cancer patients: post-surgical care. Oncologic critical care, 1809-1823.
Thackeray, A., & Miller, C. (2019). The Management of Post-Surgical Orthopedic Conditions in the Older Adult. Guccione’s Geriatric Physical Therapy E-Book, 453.
2. Gladis
The Theory of Comfort was initiated during the 1990s. It is a nursing theory for clinical practice, academic research, and clinical instruction. From her perspective, providing patient comfort involves providing a sense of alleviation, ease, and transcendence. There are comforts available on multiple levels, including the physical, psychological, spiritual, and environmental. The model implies that experiencing a sense of comfort is a consequence that is both desirable and immediate after receiving nursing care. This theory was the culmination of her work on the subject. Because of this, the idea was eventually developed. According to Kolcaba, comfort is the result of practicing holistic nursing. In this approach, nursing is responsible for determining a patient’s comfort needs, developing and executing nursing care plans, and assessing the patient’s level of satisfaction with those plans. Assessing a patient’s comfort needs, formulating a plan to address those needs, and then reevaluating the patient’s degree of comfort are all part of nursing. The evaluation could be objective or subjective, such as monitoring the patient’s wound healing or inquiring whether they are experiencing discomfort. Kolcaba’s theory of comfort. Nursing Theory. (2019)
A care strategy is developed for patients after a nurse determines their comfort requirements through an assessment. As a patient’s comfort demands evolve, the nurse’s interventions will shift accordingly. This makes it easier for nurses to provide care and comfort for their patients. A sufferer’s emotional and mental health can improve with comfort. Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory. (2018). Medication can be used to alleviate pain. The patient’s comfort is directly correlated to both their physical setting and their mental condition. When a patients’ anxiety is addressed, they report feeling better. The patient has a sense of transcendence and comfort as they overcome obstacles in their care and recovery.
Even though this theory has been researched as a holistic outcome, the term “comfort” has not yet been defined within nursing. The research here takes an interactional point of view to develop a theory of nursing comfort. A model of the human body connects (a) actions that enhance comfort and (b) the outcomes of nursing care. The significance of comfort theory in nursing practice is the final topic covered in this article. Kolcaba, K. (1994)
References
Kolcaba’s theory of comfort. Nursing Theory. (2019, August 21). Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/kolcaba-theory-of-comfort.php
Katharine Kolcaba – Nursing Theory. (n.d.). Nursing Theory. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Katharine-Kolcaba.php
Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory. (2018, September 9). Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory | Nursology. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://nursology.net/nurse-theories/kolcabas-comfort-theory/
Kolcaba, K. (1994). A theory of comfort for nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 19, 1178 1184.
