AIM: To explore the different levels of nurses' perspectives in the delivery of patient education in postoperative care. BACKGROUND: Patient education is a frequently reported missed nursing care and can lead to postoperative complications and hospital readmissions. METHODS: Descriptive exploratory qualitative study involving eight focus groups with 35 nurses was conducted in an acute hospital. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: The analysis yielded three themes: 'Role ambiguity' between the levels of nurses concerning their roles in patient education; 'Not a priority nursing care' for patient education due to competing work demands and the missing workplace culture to teach; and 'Informal teaching' carried out conversationally during nursing care activities. CONCLUSION: This study augments the need to develop strategies, including informal teaching, to strengthen the delivery of patient education to avert missed nursing care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers and educators are instrumental in establishing role clarity between ward nurses and specialty care nurses for patient education, recognizing patient education as the next nurse-sensitive indicator in reflecting quality of care, fostering positive workplace cultures to teach and providing ward nurses with trainings on communication strategies to provide effective informal teaching at bedside.
AIM: To explore the different levels of nurses' perspectives in the delivery of patient education in postoperative care. BACKGROUND:Patient education is a frequently reported missed nursing care and can lead to postoperative complications and hospital readmissions. METHODS: Descriptive exploratory qualitative study involving eight focus groups with 35 nurses was conducted in an acute hospital. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: The analysis yielded three themes: 'Role ambiguity' between the levels of nurses concerning their roles in patient education; 'Not a priority nursing care' for patient education due to competing work demands and the missing workplace culture to teach; and 'Informal teaching' carried out conversationally during nursing care activities. CONCLUSION: This study augments the need to develop strategies, including informal teaching, to strengthen the delivery of patient education to avert missed nursing care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers and educators are instrumental in establishing role clarity between ward nurses and specialty care nurses for patient education, recognizing patient education as the next nurse-sensitive indicator in reflecting quality of care, fostering positive workplace cultures to teach and providing ward nurses with trainings on communication strategies to provide effective informal teaching at bedside.