Following up with patients?

[linguine]

Hello periop nurses,

Is there any way to follow up with patients after their procedures? I see how the surgeons could do this but what about a nurse?

As a nurse in a clinic setting, I follow up with all patients that I triage and send home if thir issue does not need to be addressed by a provider that same day (because simply, demand exceeds supply). This follow up helps me determine whether the interventions I provided at the time were helpful or non-helpful. One reason I like primary care is the long term relationship with patients. Will this ability be lost working in the perioperative setting? I think I will enjoy most aspects of the OR but I want to be able to follow up with patients too and see how they are recovering from surgery.

Any Insights? Thank you!

[SnowStar4]

Sometimes I ask the Drs how the patient is doing and they are usually happy to fill me in. Other than that you can't really follow up as it may be a HIPAA violation since there is no longer a patient/nurse relationship.

[lockheart678]

I usually work with the same surgeons all the time, so I occasionally have the same patient for multiple surgeries. It's really interesting when the patient comes back a year later. Even though we see so many patients throughout that time, I always remember the patients that I've previously taken care of. The only other way for me to find out how they're doing is to ask the surgeons.

[Argo]

I check on my post op day 1 and 2 patients from CABG/AVR/MVR surgery since they are in the SICU for about 2 days post op on average. I just like to see how they are doing and recovering... wish them good luck and a happy future.