An Ambulatory Surgery Center is only as successful as the satisfaction of its patients. Patients who are happy with how they are treated before, during, and after outpatient procedures are some of the best advertising your ASC can receive. Moving into 2022, consider how you can build on an already good patient experience and make it an excellent patient experience.
Creating a positive work culture is imperative in Ambulatory Surgery Centers. ASC employees are under constant stress because of the fast-paced environment and need to provide top-quality care at all times. The stakes are high, and there is always a risk that negativity can creep into your ASC's culture. Providing a positive culture for your staff will create a work environment where negativity has no place, resulting in better service, higher employee retention, and greater employee satisfaction.
Nursing is a calling as well as a career. Most people who become nurses have a passion for caring for others and an intense devotion to their work that can lead to burnout when they are emotionally, physically, and intellectually drained by the demands of their job. ASC nurses aren't immune to burnout, but there are ways Ambulatory Surgery Centers can minimize burnout to ensure good mental health for their nurses and the best possible care for their patients.
Postoperative care is defined as the care that a patient receives following a surgical procedure. It’s an important aspect of healthcare as it encompasses all the procedures necessary for effective recovery after any type of surgery.
According to the World Health Organization, postoperative care includes recovery room orders concerning a patient’s vital signs, pain control, intravenous fluid administration, waste output, medications, and lab investigations. Most if not all of these tasks are performed by specialist nurses.
This means that proper postoperative care is affected by the nursing shortage, especially as it includes medical tasks only doable by those with the right training and qualifications. While more specialist nurses are qualifying for their BSN, it’s currently not enough to answer the high demand for them in hospitals, community clinics, and ASCs. This is why it’s crucial for medical professionals to be well-versed in the fundamentals of postoperative care, which can help streamline the whole process and better aid patients in recovery.
Any surgical procedure is a daunting prospect for patients. If it’s the first time a patient is having surgery, it can be frightening as well. Anxious patients often have questions or concerns that need to be adequately addressed. Putting these patients at ease is essential to their recovery and ensuring their ASC experience is positive.
This is blog 2 of 3 that explains the ins and outs of pre-admissions cardiac testing from my perspective. As an anesthesiologist, with over 30 years of experience, I’ve done everything from open heart and liver transplant to fast-paced ASCs and pain management. My goal is to provide a common-sense explanation that helps ASC preop nurses to better understand cardiac testing in the context of a preop evaluation for ambulatory surgery.
So here’s what I can tell you: If stranded on a deserted island (or is it a desert island!?) doing anesthesia on old folks and I could have only one cardiac test, the cardiac echo would be it. Hands down. Stop the show.
20 years ago, most ASCs typically cared for ASA 1 and 2 patients: young, relatively healthy patients having simple, relatively non-invasive surgery. Fast forward to 2021 - as advances in anesthesia techniques, surgical techniques, and an overall better understanding of minimizing risk for ambulatory surgical patients has evolved, most ambulatory surgery center preop surgical nurses today will routinely care for at least some ASA 3 patients.
As an ambulatory surgical nurse, you know what that means: older, sicker patients with more cardiac problems. Frequently, these patients come with either (1) a slew of pre-admissions documentation that you have to weed through or (2) nothing at all. It seems like there’s never just the right amount!
Patient satisfaction can make or break the success of your ASC. As an anesthesiologist, I broke down 5 changes you can implement to keep your patients happy without costing you anything! Here are my thoughts:
