Ideas That Work: Video Tells Patients What to Expect on Day of Surgery

EASING STRESS Here's a still from Memorial Sloan Kettering's video, available on both the hospital's patient portal and the web, which answers commonly asked questions and questions that patients should ask.

Video Tells Patients What to Expect on Day of Surgery

As OR nurses, we recognized an important knowledge gap not just with patients, but also with staff. To address it, we created a 5-minute video called "What to Expect on the Day of Your Surgery at MSK's Memorial Hospital."

It's a day that's bound to be stressful for patients and their loved ones. But the nurses who work most closely with them before that day usually have no OR experience, so they're often unable to adequately answer all of their questions.

We shot the video over a weekend, using employees and friends, and took care to try to answer all of the most commonly asked questions (and questions that should be asked) — everything from which hospital entrance to use, to what to expect in pre-op, to how we monitor vital signs. The whole project took about 6 months.

The feedback has been very positive. Patients can view the video on our patient portal and on the web (osmag.net/Fx4TUb). Also, many of our office practice nurses, whom we rely on to help educate patients, say they, too, have a better understanding as a result of the video.

Lizz Pincus, MSN, MBA, RN, ACNS-BC, CNS-CP, CNOR
Kristen Crookes, BSN, RN, CNOR
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, N.Y.
[email protected]
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