Role of Nursing Personnel : Postoperative Care

Role of Nursing Personnel

  • Registered Nurse (RN)
    • Assess patient’s initial airway, breathing, and circulation status.
    • Evaluate for the return to consciousness, ability to maintain airway and breathing.
    • Provide ongoing assessments for postoperative problems (e.g., airway obstruction, hypoventilation, hypotension or hypertension, dysrhythmias, emergence delirium).
    • Evaluate patient’s readiness to be transferred to clinical unit or be discharged from ambulatory surgery.
    • Provide hand-off report about patient status when transferring patient to RN on clinical unit.
    • Provide discharge teaching for patient and caregiver after ambulatory surgery.
      • Assess patient on initial admission to clinical unit.
      • Assess for postoperative complications (e.g., atelectasis, hemodynamic instability, cognitive dysfunction, pain, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, fever or hypothermia, nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, wound infection).
      • Develop and implement an individualized plan of care based on identification of patient risk factors and potential complications.
      • Develop and implement individualized patient and caregiver education, including discharge teaching.
  • Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN)
    • Administer and titrate O2 based on agency protocols.
    • Give analgesics and IV fluids (consider state nurse practice act and agency policy).
      • Titrate O2 administration according to prescribed parameters.
      • Monitor pain level and give prescribed analgesics.
      • Give medications (consider state nurse practice act and agency policy for medications).
      • Provide wound care, including dressing changes.
      • Use bladder ultrasound to check for urinary retention.
      • Insert catheter as prescribed for urinary retention
  • Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP)
    • Assist with positioning of patients in the lateral recovery position.
    • Obtain vital signs, pulse oximetry and capillary blood glucose levels (per agency policy). Report abnormal levels to RN.
    • Assist patient with elimination needs.
    • Assist in transfer of patient to clinical unit.
      • Record oral intake and output.
      • Assist patient with deep breathing and coughing exercises.
      • Report complaints of pain to RN or LPN/LVN.
      • Reposition and ambulate patients as instructed.
      • Provide hygiene, including oral care.
      • Assist with nutrition and elimination needs.

Role of other team members

  • Respiratory Therapist