The nurse's role in day surgery: a literature review

AIM: This paper reports a literature review to synthesize the evidence on day surgery, demonstrating its usefulness for innovative nurses. BACKGROUND: Day surgery growth has developed rapidly in recent years. Such a rapid growth has triggered a shift in nursing roles and interventions. Nursing roles are taking shape within modern day surgical units but have not been widely reviewed in developing countries. METHODS: The RCN library, BNI, CINAHL and Medline databases were searched using the terms 'day surgery and technological advantages', 'financial/economic benefits', 'patient experiences/satisfaction', 'day surgery/international comparisons', 'day surgery and developing countries'. Only papers in the English language from 1990 to 2005 were reviewed, with a predominantly adult focus. The papers examined mainly used research techniques and some opinion papers, policy documents and textbooks were examined for additional information. FINDINGS: The key strengths of day surgery are cost-effectiveness, increased patient satisfaction and low infection rates. Patients indicated that effective information provision and psychological preparation helped them cope with the experience. The use of music, story telling and distraction reduced pre-operative anxiety. Contrastingly, the deficits included poor information giving and psychological preparation resulting in high anxiety levels. Many patients encountered variable pain and nausea management and education strategies. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the importance of adequate preparation and continuous psychological support for patients undergoing day surgery. The challenges faced by practitioners involved with innovation are also emphasized.