Influence on nurses' variance judgment by their consciousness and knowledge of clinical pathway

- From the survey by questionnaire to the nurse engaging in the breast surgery clinical pathway -

Abstract

　In daily practice for clinical pathways, cooperation between medical team members is important. In particular, the contribution of the nurse who plays a role of coordinator in the team is essential. Therefore, it is inferred that nurses' knowledge and awareness of the need for team participation in relation to clinical pathways will influence related practices and variance judgments.

　From this viewpoint, in order to grasp the present state of nurses' knowledge and awareness in connection with the breast cancer surgery clinical pathway, a questionaire survey with unsigned forms was carried out on the nurses in a certain hospital. Findings revealed that the clinical pathway has been operated rather vaguely and with inadequate knowledge, making variance judgments difficult in daily nursing services. Moreover, potential conditions were grasped in which the over-expectation for work reduction may damage the foundation for operation processes geared toward the achievement of clinical pathways.

　These results suggest noteworthy points to be considered in order to realize sound practice for clinical pathways in daily nursing services and planning improvements.