Positioning patients for robotic‐assisted surgery: A qualitative study of operating room nurses' experiences

• Published in: Nursing open Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 469 - 478
• Main Authors: Bjøro, Benedikte, Ballestad, Ingvild, Rustøen, Tone, Fosmark, Monica Hetlesæther, Bentsen, Signe Berit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.02.2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Content analysis; Credibility; Gynecology; Humans; Interviews; Nurses; operating room nurse; Operating Rooms; Patient positioning; patient safety; Qualitative Research; qualitative study; Quality of Health Care; Robotic surgery; Robotic Surgical Procedures; robotic‐assisted surgery; Urology; Norway; patient positioning; qualitative study; patient safety; robotic-assisted surgery; operating room nurse
• ISSN: 2054-1058; 2054-1058
• DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1312

Aim One of the challenges of robotic‐assisted surgery is related to positioning of the patient on the operating table. Technological developments place increased demands on operating room nurses' competence to prevent positioning injuries and ensuring care quality. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe operating room nurses' experiences when positioning the patients for robotic‐assisted surgery. Design A descriptive qualitative design. Methods Seven operating room nurses with experience in robotic‐assisted surgery were included at a university hospital. Data were obtained through individual interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative research COREQ checklist was used. Results We identified three categories, (a) patient positioning is challenging during robotic‐assisted surgery, (b) operating room nurses take responsibility for patient positioning during robotic‐assisted surgery, but teamwork is important and (c) operating room nurses aim to achieve safe patient positioning during robotic‐assisted surgery.