In addition to PACU’s standard regimen of clinical care, some non-drug interventions can help to ease patients’ anxiety and, in turn, their post-op pain. Mindy Wallace, MSN, CRNA, FAAPM, an anesthetist at the Cottage Hospital Pain Clinic in Woodsville, N.H., recommends starting with empathy and kindness.
"Patients will hear what you say better if they believe you know what they’re going through," she wrote in Outpatient Surgery’s 2008 Manager’s Guide to Ambulatory Anesthesia. "You don’t have to have undergone the same procedure, but you should try to get a feel for what they’re feeling. Similarly, there is no medical term for administering kindness, but a smile or a gentle squeeze of the hand goes a long way."
A radio on the nursing station desk that fills the room with low-volume music provides a pleasant distraction. "Music is such a low-cost and effective intervention that it’s a wonder it’s not used more often in pre-op and recovery," she says.
"We’ve also found that ginger tea is a great anti-emetic for post-op patients," she adds. "Even if they’re not suffering from PONV, it can help with their fluid intake."
—David Bernard
