[twig]

Hi all-it's my first time on the forum & I have a question for a friend of mine. She is a fellow MSN student, trying to develop a critical path for esophagogastrectomy & isn't finding any research on best postop practices. What are your units doing, and is it research based? She has contacted several big cancer centers & can't get ONE reply from anyone on the critical path being used for esophagogastrectomy. Can we share a little or what?

[prn nurse]

That's what it will be from me. Critical paths save the dr.'s time. !!!! ##!*##@*#!!!! For the nurse, it is simply 6 more pages of paperwork !!!

[snickers]

Pardon my ignorance...I know what an esophagogastrectomy is but what is a "critical path" ?

Thanx.

sj.

[pghfoxfan]

It is like a care plan...we call them Clinical Pathways in my hospital. They can help you keep the patient on path for discharge. Starting with Pre op day...OR day...Post op day 1 etc. Each day has a list of what is expected of the patient...if they fall off "path" you list the varience. Variences are tracked too.

[Pete495]

Hi,

Our surgeons just started doing esophagectomies, and we've modled our staff education off of Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. so you can contact them for help with your problem if necessary. The surgeons at our facility use a pre-developed thoracotomy pathway, but this is only because they are too lazy to make up one for esophagectomies. The thoracotomy pathway is designed more for open lung surgery than anything else, and much of it obviouslky isn't pertinent for esophagectomies.

Our facility is much smaller and the mortality level has been proven to be much higher in smaller facillities. Well, much of the staff isn't happy that the surgeons have decided to do them, esp. since they've been at the facility 4 years and haven't done any.

Pete495