How to Calm Your Patient’s Pre-Surgery Anxiety?

Feeling anxious before surgery is common for patients, as they start to feel nervous and restless, even if it is not their first time going under the knife. Anxious patients suffer from symptom like – 

• Irregular heartbeat
• Increased blood pressure
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Sleep problems

However, this anxiety is not good either for the patient as well as for the healthcare professionals. It can be worrying for patients, especially those with cardiovascular problems. It can have adverse effects on patients’ overall health and post surgery recovery.

It is usually the responsibility of a nurse to calm down the patient before surgery and ease their worries. As a nurse, you would have already studied about such situations at nursing school. However, here are a few tips for you that can help to calm down the patients.

• Be punctual - It is advised not to leave a patient waiting before the surgery. It only fuels their nerves and makes them more nervous. As a nurse, you should be on time, so that you can ease patients’ fears on time.
• Converse with patients - Make conversation with the patient before surgery. Small talk will ease their worries and help you create a therapeutic bond with them. Listen and acknowledge their concerns regarding the surgery to get to know what is really troubling them. Let them know that it is okay to be nervous and they will be well taken care. Your reassurance combined with empathy will reduce their anxiety considerably and they will calm down.
• Be informative - Many patients like to know what will happen before and during the surgery, as lack of knowledge makes them uneasy. You can provide them information and help ease their worries. Educate them about the surgery and instructions to distract them. Such information will help them de-stress and relive the anxiety.Moreover, if they are too nervous to ask questions, take initiative to inform them yourself. You can also show them relevant images or videos to educate them about the procedure.
• Use relaxation techniques - There are a variety of relaxation techniques that are used by healthcare professionals to calm patients before a surgical procedure. It includes focusing on breathing, meditation and muscle relaxation. These techniques can slow down the breathing and control the heart rate. You can use such techniques to calm your patient.
• Music therapy - To ease patients’ pre-surgery anxiety, nurses can use music. It is seen that people, who listen to relaxing music before surgery are relaxed and less nervous.

As per the nurses who are experienced in the profession, there could be more things that can calm patient’s anxiety before surgery. These things can only be learnt with practice and experience while working in a nursing facility. 

If you are a nurse and willing to pursue a rewarding career in nursing in Canada, the best way is to go for International Nursing Programs of your choice. There are Canadian nursing programs that allow nurses to study as well as work in Canada. To know your options, you can explore the nursing courses in Canada for International Nurses offered by INSCOL.