Patient awareness of anesthesia prior to a planned surgery through the eyes of the patients and the anesthesiology nursesnurse.

Patient awareness of anesthesia prior to a planned surgery through the eyes of the patients and the anesthesiology nurses Abstract This Bachelor{\crq}s thesis focuses on the research and evaluation of the level of patient awareness of the progress of anesthesia prior to a planned surgery. The awareness of anesthesia is evaluated from the point of view of the patient and the anesthesiology nurse. The scope of the thesis also includes the issue of proper communication with the patient and the importance of winning his trust to the medical personnel during the general preparation for the surgery as well as in the course of his hospitalization. It also shows the patient{\crq}s opinions on the acquisition of information on anesthesia, which would certainly alleviate his fear of the surgery. This Bachelor{\crq}s thesis is primarily based on a quantitative survey of opinions of patients and anesthesiology nurses, conducted in the form of anonymous questionnaires in which both groups expressed their views on the specific hypotheses. The key purpose of the thesis is to confirm the hypotheses, which assume that patients are not given sufficient information on their anesthesia, in spite of their interest in obtaining better knowledge of the anesthetic process. Hypothesis 2, i.e. ``Patients are interested in information from the anesthesiology nurse,{\crq}q cannot be confirmed because, based on the survey, patients prefer doctors to anesthesiology nurses as the source of information. On the basis of the survey, the thesis confirms hypothesis 1, i.e. ``Patients are not informed about the progress of anesthesia by the anesthesiology nurse.{\crq}q The low share of anesthesiology nurses in the patient{\crq}s education prior to a planned surgery is demonstrated by the opinions of the participating anesthesiology nurses, whose share is extremely low and mostly involves situations just before the planned surgery, when the patient is already lying in the surgery room. As regards hypothesis 3, i.e. ``Anesthesiology nurses are not interested in informing the patients of the progress of anesthesia prior to a planned surgery,{\crq}q it is confirmed that anesthesiology nurses are really not interested in educating the patients for many reasons, such as their large workload, lack of time, insufficient motivation and unsatisfactory financial reward. As a possible solution, we have suggested a patient education standard for anesthesiology nurses and an information leaflet for patients, which could help them understand the progress of preparation for anesthesia and the possibilities of anesthesia in general. In no case should the leaflet substitute personal education by an anesthesiology nurse; its purpose is only to serve as on instruction for the patient to prepare questions which he would like to ask before the surgery