Invasive procedures in cardiology have a diagnostic and therapeutic function. The elective number of procedures is becoming more common in inpatient wards, therefore preparing and monitoring patients should be organized so that the patient is informed and adequately prepared, and the nurse fast and skillful. It is imperative that the nurse as a part of a multidisciplinary team has skills and knowledge in accordance with recent guidelines, which contributes to quality of care and satisfaction in the team. Invasive procedures that are prepared and monitored are coronary angiography, electrophysiological examination, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, occluders, pacing.
The preparation of the patient health care team should be agreed prior to patient preparation. Increased workplace demands, which are very often the result of poor time management, can very easily lead to burnout. (1) Multitasking or the ability to perform multiple jobs or tasks at the same time is a skill that a nurse/technician they need to master. It is important to realize that time thieves exist. Kounter, Stein and Jick (2008) talking about organizational changes state how they can be divided into three groups. This is the so-called big three which includes changes in the environment, in the organization and in the individual. (2)
Psychological preparation begins by entering the ward, making the patient familiar with the ward, the ward rules, the procedure which will be done, and the multidisciplinary team. Physical preparation also begins with the arrival to the ward and lasts until going to the surgery. It differs for each of the above-mentioned procedures, so it is advised to have a flowchart to use when preparing a patient.
The procedure is followed by monitoring the patient, which requires expertise in cardiology from the nurse in order to be able to recognize the complications that follow the above-mentioned procedures in time. This is important to us because by timely recognition of the objective and subjective parameters, we can prevent undesirable consequences as a multidisciplinary team. Upon discharge the patient should also be educated about further lifestyle and check-ups.