Abstract:
Advances in surgical procedures and decreasing hospital lengths of stay present nurses with significant challenges in enhancing the quality of care and improving clinical outcomes. This prospective study compared the clinical outcomes of two groups of patients undergoing laser transuretheral resection of prostate (TURP) at a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne. The study compared the effects of two different patient education methods used prior to discharge. Results indicated that patients who received video based post-operative education had significantly greater knowledge, lower frustration and higher acceptance levels than a matched group of controls. There was no difference between the groups in a psychomotor performance index or in the rates of microbial contamination at five days post-operatively. The findings suggest that video based education methods may be effective in positively influencing cognitive and affective domains, however, where a patient needs to learn a new manual skill, it may be more effective for nurses to concentrate their efforts on demonstration, supervision and support.