Educating Pre-operative Nurses About the Use of Herbal Supplements in Pre-operative Patients

Abstract

Herbal supplements are widely used in the adult population worldwide, however, these supplements can produce adverse effects and alter anesthesia management during surgery. Literature revealed the lack of prompting from healthcare personnel during doctor visits and pre-operative assessments due to a lack of education or perceived importance. To address this issue, a 30-minute online module was developed to educate the pre-operative Registered Nurses (RNs) of the Rapid In/Out (RIO) department at AdventHealth Orlando in Orlando, FL. The primary aims of this project were to: evaluate the difference in knowledge base and retention of knowledge following completion of the educational module by RNs; evaluate the retention of knowledge 30 days after the initial education module; and to determine the feasibility of implementing a prompt in the medication reconciliation to assess herbal supplement use. A final sample size of 15 Pre-operative RNs was determined and included in the data analysis. Mean pre-test and post-test scores showed significant improvement in knowledge, but a larger sample size would be needed to produce generalizability of results. The organizational adoption of a prompt assessing herbal supplement use in the electronic health record was determined as not feasible. This project’s data supports the identified knowledge gap in surgical and anesthetic implications of herbal supplement use.