Patient advocacy in the perioperative setting.

A descriptive study was undertaken to define patient advocacy and perioperative nurses' role as advocates and to investigate perioperative nurses' perceptions of behaviors that represent advocacy in the perioperative setting. A purposive sample of 163 perioperative RNs from upstate New York was invited to participate in the study. A total of 57 responses were returned, and 33 individuals participated in audiotaped interviews. The four overarching themes that emerged from the interviews include protection, communication/giving voice, doing, and comfort and caring. These interrelated, overlapping themes represent nurses' definition, role, and experiences of patient advocacy in the perioperative setting.