An approach to consistent patient education.

Patient education is instrumental to postoperative recovery. To that end, the nurse must be able to decipher the discharge instructions and the patient and caregivers must be able to understand them. Ambulatory surgery patients are in the clinical setting for shorter periods; therefore, nurses need to provide these patients with effective educational tools that will assist them in achieving optimal surgical outcomes. In an effort to improve our perioperative and discharge orders, which were being handwritten, I created standardized forms that require little handwriting and allow surgeons to complete their orders by checkmarking the items. Use of these forms has improved turnover time, provided nurses and patients with orders that are easier to read and understand, and produced fewer incidences in which information is left off orders or misunderstood. Following up with patients to ensure their comprehension and active participation in their postsurgical care allows the nurses to assess the success of surgical care and patient satisfaction.