Tips for developing a thorough patient profile
To provide every elderly patient with the best possible recovery, it is imperative to know as much as possible about the patient’s overall functional status before he or she develops a need for surgery. Suzanne Beyea, PhD, RN, CS, co-director of perioperative nursing research at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in Denver, recommends using the following questions to develop a thorough patient profile:
- Can the patient get out of the house independently?
- What is the patient’s ambulation status?
- Does the patient have stairs to climb? If so, can the patient go up and down?
- What are the patient’s financial resources? Does the patient have health insurance? If not, is he or she eligible?
- Who does the patient have for social support?
- Does the patient have access to food? Can the patient fix his or her own meals after surgery?
- Can someone help or live with the patient?
- Does the patient have access to a telephone? Can the patient hear well enough to use it?
- Is the patient independent in his activities of daily living?
- Does the patient show signs of depression? What is his or her baseline mental status?
- Does the patient have trouble with memory loss?
- What medications is the patient taking?
- What is the patient’s understanding of the surgical procedure and postoperative care?
- Has the patient experienced a recent weight loss? If so, how many pounds?
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