Profile of the Ideal Nursing Image during the Discharge-Preparation Transition from Kidney Transplantation: Taiwanese Patients' Perspective

Patients' perceptions of nursing actions during the discharge-preparation transition-which begins with the patients' stay in the posttransplant floor unit and ends on the day before discharge from the hospital-have seldom been reported. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Taiwanese patients' perceptions of whether nursing actions have facilitated or hindered their recovery during this transition. A purposive sample of 40 adult patients (20 men, 20 women) who underwent kidney transplantation surgery were recruited from one national medical center in northern Taiwan. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews carried out after. the patients were transferred from the intensive care unit to the floor unit and prior to discharge. and were then analyzed using content analysis. Participants in this study fell into two main groups with regard to perceptions of nursing actions: those having experiences of both helpful and non-helpful nursing actions( 87%), and those having experiences of helpful nursing actions only (13%). Eighty percent of the subjects valued the nurses' help in facilitating their recovery by performing roles of comforters (75%), information providers( 70%), daily activity helpers (45%), professional skill providers (40%), and health status monitors (10%). However, 65% of the participants reported that some nurses had hindered their recovery due to the following non-helpful nursing actions: failure to provide correct or adequate information (55%), failure to help in maintaining daily activities (40%), and failure to provide professional skills (35%). The profile of the ideal nursing image is found to encompass the roles of comforter, information provider daily activities helper professional skills provider and health status monitor: The context of the patients' perceptions included 1) the only treatment avenue that offers return to a normal lifestyle, 2) the complex nature of the recovery process, and 3) the shortage of nursing manpower. A conceptual framework was developed to depict this phenomenon