Adverse effects in surgical patients: Knowledge of the nursing professionals Eventos adversos em pacientes cirúrgicos: Conhecimento dos profssionais de enfermagem

Abstract

Objective: Verify the knowledge of the nursing team about adverse effects in patients at the surgical center, point out possible causes, identify whose is the responsibility for these causes and verify the need of notification. Methods: Descriptive research performed by questionnaire with ten statements about causes for the occurrence of adverse effects and four settings, carried out with 31 nursing professionals from the surgical center of a private hospital. Results: The most frequent causes have been routine in programming elective procedures and ineffcient communication between medical and nursing teams. All settings have been identifed as adverse events with a necessity to be notifed. The patient's safety is not seen as a responsibility of the entire professional team. Conclusion: Nurses must defend the patient's interests, know the risks inherent to the surgical process and warn team members about possible problems that may come up.