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Preoperative Patient Education

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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

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Abstract

Preoperative preparation is the first stage in the enhanced recovery pathway. Preoperative preparation includes a variety of processes required to set appropriate expectations for patients and their families and ensure fitness for surgery and transference of information. The latter, preoperative education is the focus of this chapter. Preoperative education although a fundamental part of the enhanced recovery pathway is one element of the pathway that is poorly researched. Although logically it could be assumed that it is necessary to educate patients, the majority of evidence is anecdotal. This chapter explores why educating patients prior to surgery is essential and how and by whom it should be undertaken. The limited details on the specifics involved in undertaking preoperative education are explored. Preoperative education appears in the main to be provided by nurses, and there is evidence that this information meets the patient’s needs. Additionally patient education empowers patients to be involved in their surgical pathway, which potentially results in a shorter hospital stay with fewer complications in hospital and after discharge home.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gastrointestinal Nurse Education, Department of Surgery, St. Mark’s Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, UK

    Jennie Burch

  2. Department of Surgical Services – Colorectal Unit, Western General Hospital, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Angie Balfour

Authors
  1. Jennie Burch
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  2. Angie Balfour
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Correspondence to Angie Balfour .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden

    Olle Ljungqvist

  2. Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Higher Kingston, Yeovil, Somerset, UK

    Nader K. Francis

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s, Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Richard D. Urman

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Burch, J., Balfour, A. (2020). Preoperative Patient Education. In: Ljungqvist, O., Francis, N., Urman, R. (eds) Enhanced Recovery After Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33443-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33443-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-33442-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33443-7

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