Pre-Admission Teaching and Testing Unit

Pre-Admission Teaching and Testing Unit

The Pre-Admission Teaching and Testing (P.A.T.T.) program was initiated by the Ambulatory Surgery nursing staff, to prepare patients and their families for surgery, by providing information about all aspects of their ambulatory surgery visit.

The P.A.T.T. nurses are responsible for the coordination (in conjunction with physician offices), organization and teaching of the pre-admission education program.

Patients are either scheduled for an in-person interview or a scheduled phone call interview.

When patients come in for their pre-admission teaching and testing, they report to the main reception desk 15 minutes prior to their P.A.T.T. appointment time. They can expect their P.A.T.T. visit to take approximately 1-1-½ hours, of which the nursing interview will take approximately 30 minutes.
The P.A.T.T. nurse will see the patient prior to testing procedures.

During the time allotted for teaching, the nurse initiates the patient assessment including such information as medical/surgical history, allergies and a list of medications he or she is taking. Patients are then instructed on what to expect the day of surgery and what they need to do to prepare for their surgery. The patient and/or family are encouraged and given time to ask questions about their surgery and care.

A pamphlet reviewing the dos and don’ts of surgery is given to the patient to take home and review. The phone numbers to the P.A.T.T. office and the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU) are also provided. The pre-admission teaching is tailored to the different needs of each age group including more appropriate language for the younger patients.

The P.A.T.T. nurse also develops an individualized Plan of Care for each patient. This provides the opportunity to initiate any special interventions that may be needed prior to or at the time of admission.

At the end of the nursing interview, the nurse will instruct the patient /family of what pre-operative testing will be preformed, and where the departments are located for their testing procedures.

Pre-operative testing is performed on the Main floor of the hospital, with the exception of EKG’s. EKG’s are performed on the second floor, to the left off the elevator. Lab work is performed in the Blood Draw area, across from the reception desk on the Main floor. X-ray’s are performed in the Medical Imaging Department, on the Main floor.

Patients are called, the day prior to their surgery, to be notified of their surgery time and arrival time between the hours of 1-3pm. (Patients scheduled on Monday are notified on the Friday before.)

Through the development of the Pre-Admission Teaching and Testing program we are providing our patients with increased education and high-quality care.

We will be happy to answer your questions or concerns regarding the information you have accessed on this site.
 

Contact Us

Toni Senter, RN
Nurse Manager
PATT Unit
(518) 483-3000 ext. 2648