The anesthesia nurse meets with a patient who will soon undergo surgery. As he is quite anxious, the nurse talks about the procedures and monitoring devices.
Nurse : Good morning. I’m the anesthesia nurse.
Patient : Good morning. I didn’t expect that you were so many in the operating room !
Nurse : Don’t worry, that’s normal. The head nurse is in charge of the sterile area around you, and the circulating nurse unwraps the instrument packs onto the table beside the head nurse so that the content remains sterile. The consultant surgeon and assisting surgeons, the anesthetist, and the surgeon will be here in a minute. We’ll set up the monitoring devices now, ok ?
Patient : Monitoring devices ?
Nurse : Yes, they will supervise your vital signs such as the oxygen level in your blood, the heart rate, the blood pressure and breathing patterns.
Patient : Does that mean that I will not be breathing ?
Nurse : Well, the purpose of general anesthesia is to provide safety and comfort during the operation. And this is also why we assist you with breathing.
Patient : But I’m still anxious about the anesthesia.
Nurse : You shouldn’t worry at all. You will have no pain or awareness of the surrounding. Anesthesia is remarkably safe. We will also give you sedation to help you relax before the general anesthesia. And being nervous is a natural feeling before surgery.
Patient : I’m afraid that it could be painful.
Nurse : You shouldn’t. Anesthesia aims at keeping you free from pain during and after surgery. In the post anesthesia care unit, the peri-anesthesia nurse may ask you to assess your pain on a scale from zero to ten and adjust your medication until you are comfortable and relaxed.
Patient : And what if I’m still feeling pain after surgery ?
Nurse : In that case, and if you need to stay longer at the hospital, we will give you a PCA, that is a patient controlled analgesia. You will thus manage your painkillers by yourself. Are you comfortably installed ?
Patient : Yes, I guess so !
Nurse : All right. Now take it easy, breathe slowly and think of something or some place nice. The more you are relaxed the better you’ll go to sleep and the best you’ll come out from anesthesia.
Patient : Ok, but it’s cold here in the operating room !
Nurse : This is normal. We will heat you up and all will be fine. We are now ready and are waiting for the anesthesiologist. We will set up the intravenous now, ok ? You might feel some warm sensation while the products go through. We will place a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway and assist your breathing during the surgery. Do you have any other question ?
Patient : No, I guess that’s all !
Nurse : Ok, now please breathe slowly through this mask and count to ten. You might feel a bit dizzy but that’s normal, and you will fastly go to sleep. We will be seeing you in the recovery room after your procedure. And once you are pain-free, nausea-free, and that your vital signs are stabilized, that you can drink fluids and pass urine, you will be moved to the outpatient unit for discharge.
VOCABULAIRE
Anesthesia nurse : infirmière anesthésiste
Head nurse : infirmière en chef
Circulating nurse : infirmière de liaison
Blood pressure : pression artérielle
Breathing patterns : fréquence et volume respiratoires
monitoring devices : dispositifs desurveillance
Outpatient unit : service de soins ambulatoires
Recovery room : salle de réveil (SSPI)
Common phrases
Anesthesia keeps you free from pain during and after surgery.
→ Grâce à l’anesthésie, vous ne ressentirez pas de douleur pendant et après l’opération.
We will give you sedation to help you relax before the general anesthesia.
→ Nous vous donnerons un sédatif pour vous détendre avant l’anesthésie générale.
In the post anesthesia care unit, the peri-anesthesia nurse will assess your pain on a pain scale from zero to ten.
→ En SSPI, l’infirmière péri-anesthésique évaluera l’intensité de votre douleur à l’aide d’une échelle de douleur de 0 à 10.
We will place a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway and assist your breathing during the surgery. We call that tracheal intubation.
→ Nous placerons une sonde dans votre trachée pour permettre la respiration pendant une anesthésie générale. C’est ce qu’on appelle une intubation trachéale.
Breathe slowly trough this mask and count to ten.
→ Respirez lentement à travers le masque et comptez jusqu’à dix.