PRE-OPERATIVE ORIENTATION PROGRAM IN PEDIATRIC SURGERY – STATUS REPORT ON EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The need for surgical intervention and hospitalization represents a critical moment for parents and child and requires pre-operative orientation. This work aims to relate the experience of nurses in pre-operative orientation program in the university hospital. The program covers the child being submitted to surgery as well as his family, and has the following objectives: 1) to clarify about the surgical procedure and post-operative care; 2) to explain family and child about hospital regulations and routines; 3) to provide wider interaction among nurse, family and child; 4) to make it easier for family and child to adapt to hospital unit, minimizing anxiety, depression and fear natural of such a moment. The method adopted to achieve that comprises of individual and group meetings, which last about an hour. Since the program was implemented in 1996, the above proposed objectives have been met. Also, some limitations are mentioned herewith. The authors consider that the planned preparation and orientation of family and child in the pre-operative period are fundamental factors for the acceptance of surgical procedure, for the success of family parcipation in child care, and for their adaptation to hospital environment.

Keywords

• Preoperative care
• Child
• Family