Discuss ambulatory surgery pre and postoperative pain management strategies to improve patient satisfaction and reduce patient anxiety.

For my Capstone Project I would like to discuss ambulatory surgery pre and postoperative pain management strategies to improve patient satisfaction and reduce patient anxiety. As nurses, it is our job to educate our patients about pain management options, pharmacologic as well as non-pharmacologic and what to expect in the perioperative period.

MODEL ANSWER

Ambulatory surgery centers continue to offer surgical care albeit the many challenges encountered. The challenges are even more severe when it comes to patients especially when it comes to ambulatory surgery pre and postoperative pain management strategies. Such strategies, if well executed, will improve patient satisfaction as well as reduce patient anxiety (Bhattacharyya, 2014). However, even with the increase of ambulatory surgery, there is a worrying unmet need for controlling of pain optimally across the world. As to whether the reason is lack of adequate knowledge or lack of concern, it is hard to tell.

The issue of pain management for ambulatory surgery procedures is important because the clinical patient load having pain issues in the ambulatory surgery setting can be the main cause of may morbidities and mortalities. It cannot be assumed that patients who opt to go for ambulatory services are stable and hence can manage pre/post-operative pain. As nurses, we have the absolute mandate to ensure that strategies are identified to ensure patients and their family members are well trained on how well to manage the pain.

Another reason as to why these strategies have to be identified is the fact that management of perioperative pain in such settings is getting complicated day by day and hence may need multimodal approaches and interventions which may need pain specialists. This may be a new concept making this Capstone project not only interesting but also important for one to consider. Pain management is also the broader aspect of patient satisfaction as it ensures service delivery that is as wholesome as possible.

Audience This article is specifically targeted at nurses who are the people supposed to be at the forefront advocating for patient safety and satisfaction. It is also the duty of the nurses to educate the patients on the available options for pain management