Going through a medical procedure can be extremely nerve-wracking for patients. Whether a patient has had surgery before or not doesn’t factor into the mind of the patient. The truth of the matter is that surgery can be dangerous, and from a patient’s perspective, this is a matter of life and death.
That anxiety isn’t exclusive to any surgery, and even though there are many different types of surgery, using specific techniques and equipment, the anxiety remains for the patient. For example in abdominal surgery, the doctor may need to use an abdominal surgery retractor. However, using different equipment does not mean that the surgery will be too complicated. Therefore, it falls to the doctor to make the patient feel calm and confident in the process.
How Do You Calm a Patient Before a Procedure?
Anxiety before surgery is normal. However, this does not mean that a patient’s feelings should be dismissed because allowing patients to undergo surgery with anxiety can also cause surgical side effects.
The patient’s overriding anxiety may cause high blood pressure, a faster heartbeat or even an electrolyte imbalance. All of these factors could affect the outcome of the procedure and this illustrates even more clearly why the surgeon must do all they can to keep the patient calm. Surgeons can use a variety of methods to calm anxious patients before starting surgery, it all depends on the patient’s mood and the type of surgery they are performing.
Acknowledge Your Patient’s Feelings
Some doctors make the mistake of not listening to patients or acknowledging their concerns. However, understanding what is troubling a patient and discussing this directly with them helps to ease the stress as they know that their feelings have been validated. This makes it easier for patients to communicate their symptoms to the doctor as well. Building good relationships with patients is easier if they are listened to.
Try to Offer Distractions
Rather than playing loud talk shows or movies that may be disturbing and distracting, short wellness videos can help to set the tone. While trying to remove distractions, be careful to remove excessive noise and chaos from the environment. Welcoming music, like classical music or even jazz, can be particularly soothing and can help calm a patient’s psyche and reduce their anxiety before a surgical procedure.
Use Simple Language
A major source of anxiety for patients is when doctors use big words to describe their treatment plans. It makes patients feel like the situation is more dire than it is. Communicating with patients using clear, concise language helps patients settle and consider the information and not jump to conclusions.
Closing Thoughts
At the end of the day, it is imperative that patients are calm before their surgeries. Surgeons need to learn to recognize the signs of anxiety in patients so they can enter the surgery with a calm mind. Whether it’s choosing the right music to play in the clinic or simply talking to patients and building a relationship based on trust, ensuring patients are calm will provide the best environment for surgery.
