Medical-surgical nursing forms the foundation of nursing practices. It involves the nursing of patients who have undergone surgical procedures. It focuses on the assessment of the patient, administration of care, administration of treatment and medication, and the documentation of the patient’s details. This essay discusses the role of surgical nursing in the promotion of health, its maintenance, and its restoration. Expository Essay on Surgical nursing Surgical nursing is a branch of nursing that deals with maintaining and the promotion of optimal health and functioning of a patient who has undergone a minor or major surgical procedure.
Surgical nursing involves preoperative, intra-operative, and post-operative care. Surgical nursing is involves the working of different nurses who take different position to guarantee the sustaining of life of the patient. These nurses include scrub nurses whose main role is to hand over surgical instruments and supplies to the surgeon, a circulating nurse who works outside the sterile field, and a registered nurse first assistant who provides direct surgical care to the patient. These nurses work hand in hand to promote the recovery of the patient.
Hence, surgical nursing is a very important branch of nursing that plays a major role in health promotion, maintenance, and restoration. Discussion Health promotion in a surgical setting involves quality care in the preoperative stage, the intra-operative stage, and the post-operative stage. In the preoperative stage, the nurses in the surgical ward should ensure that quality care is rendered to the patient right from their admission to when they are wheeled into theatre. The nurse should make a psychological, social, and physical assessment of the patient to enable her to know how best to care for the patient so as to obtain good results.
It also helps in identification of factors that may create a big risk in the surgical procedure. Improved health can be promoted through support of the patient by her nurse before the operation. This greatly reduces the anxiety the patient experiences and it also lowers the possibility of post-operative complications. An effective handover should provide detailed information concerning the patient so as to come up with an applicable nursing care plan for the patient. Post-operative care is very important as this is the most crucial stage after surgery.
It is aimed at assisting the patient to recover, minimize post-operative complications and prepare the patient for discharge after they have recovered substantially (Armstrong, K. F. , Torrence, T. C. , and Serginson, E. , 1997). Surgical nursing is also very crucial in the maintenance of the patient’s health before, during, and after the operation. This involves the monitoring and regulation of the patient’s condition so as not to jeopardize their lives after such delicate procedures.
Major renal complications that arise after surgeries have reduced tremendously due to the general improvement of preoperative care and the maintenance of the patient’s hydration status (Armstrong, K. F. , Torrence, T. C. , and Serginson, E. , 1997). Recovery of the surgical wound is also dependent on the professional draining and dressing of the wound. Surgical nurses monitor the vital signs necessary for sustaining the patient’s life. Surgical nurses are responsible for the restoration of health after the surgical procedure.
This entails nursing the patient back to health through diet, appropriate medication, and the use of medical knowledge to restore health. Monitoring of the patient’s condition is an important aspect in restoration as a slight mishap or ignorance can lead to death of the patient. Surgical nursing should aim at restoring the patient’s normal functions before their discharge from hospital to reduce dependency of the patient after discharge from hospital (Hopper, P. D. , and Williams L. S. , 2007). Conclusion Surgery forms the backbone of medicine and surgical nursing the backbone of nursing.
While it is the surgeon’s responsibility to cure using a scalpel, it is the nurse’s responsibility to ensure that the life of the patient is continued through the integration of her knowledge into practice. Surgical nursing is responsible for this continuation through the use of learned skills to promote, maintain, and restore health.
References
Armstrong, K. F. , Torrence, T. C. , and Serginson, E. (1997) Surgical Nursing- 12th Edition. Elesevier Health Sciences. Hopper, P. D. , and Williams L. S. (2007) Student Workbook for Understanding Medical Surgical Nursing-3rd Edition. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.