Abstract
The perioperative-nursing model is grounded on the humanistic and caring-ethical assumption of the benefit of a well-informed patient as a way in the preparation for anaesthesia and surgery as well as a way of validate the perioperative care. The purpose of the study was, by asking the head nurses anaesthetist (HNA) validation, to examine current standard regarding the perioperative dialogue and whether the nurse anaesthetist (NA) participated in preoperative and postoperative visit on the ward as the theory of perioperative dialogue discribes. A questionaire was put to 97 anaesthetic departments and 65 answered (67%). Findings show that 89% HNA agreed fully or partially that the preoperative visit was an advantage for the patient. Yet did only 3% departments always perform such visit. The majority HNA (58%) answered that such visits did not occur at all due to: A. lack of resource (time, staff or economy), B. other staff category did perform the visit, C. late admission of the patient to the hospital, D. problem due to organisation or staff-schedules, E. lack of interest or resistance. Postoperative follow up by the NA on the ward was of occasional character. Periopera-tive dialogue had low priority, due to lack of resources. Research findings regarding the value of perioperative dialogue seemed to have difficulties to have impacts in Swedish hospital reality, due to tradition and structures of the management at the hospitals.