Patient Preparation by Milagros Lopez Ramirez.
My name is Milagros Lopez Ramirez.
I am one of the child life specialists
for the peri-operative area.
And what a child life specialist is--
we are professional who specialize
in child development and recreational therapies
and we hold a bachelor's degree or master's degree.
And we focus on preparation for childrens
who are coming to the hospital to have procedure,
with a strong focus on play.
According to the child age and according to the procedure,
we explain to them in a simple way what we do.
And for the younger kids, we prepare and support parents,
so that way they know what to expect
and they can feel more comfortable.
And, you know, we try to also help
them answering their questions, so that way
if their concerns are addressed.
And for all the younger kids, we just, you know,
give them some material to interact, to be
more familiarized with them.
And for children who are two and a half, three years and up,
we can actually prepare them and kind of walk them through step
by step what to expect.
I use a picture book and I have a teddy bear with me,
so that way it's easier for children
to understand, you know, what is happening
and what they are going to go through.
And we address their questions and concerns.
For children who have a special need,
we learn from parents what, you know, works for them.
And sometimes it's pictures, and we are very concrete--
sometime two or three pictures.
And sometime, you know, some words.
And we can work also with the school teachers
in order to prepare them.
You are going to see a preparation that I did
and the way that he was walked through,
step by step, what was going to be happening today.
Pre-operative Phase Teaching.
Good morning.
I'm Milagros, I'm child life specialist.
And we are here to help childrens
and family prior surgery.
We provide psychologic and an emotional support
for kids before procedures.
And I would like to explain what is going to be happening today.
All right?
I have a teddy bear, you know?
Because sometimes, there are childrens younger than you--
they don't understand what we are doing here in the hospital
and why they need to change into hospital clothes.
And that is the reason I have a teddy bear--
to help me to explain the kids, you know,
what things we do here in the hospital.
I have a picture book here that helps me to explain you what
is going to be happening today.
OK?
And if you have any question, I'm
going to be more than happy to try to answer your question
or look for the answers.
All right?
And I have some medical equipment
that I'm going to show you so that way
you know what to expect.
And when the doctors or the nurses use it,
you will not be afraid.
All right?
So if you have any questions, you can ask any time, OK?
So every person that is going to be with Brandon, you know,
in the surgical room today, every time
that we come to the bedside, we are
going to be checking for the same information
just to make sure it the right patient
and we are doing the right procedure.
And this tells us that you have some allergies.
So you came to the hospital, and you came to the third floor
and registered, your parents were there.
And you remember that as soon as one of the nurses
was ready for you--
she brought you here, OK, and gave you a checkup.
It's like when we learn about your body.
We weighed you on the scale today, did we do that?
OK.
We weigh you on the scale.
And also did we listen to your heart?
And also we used the blood pressure.
Ok, we took your blood pressure.
And we put that around here, and, you know,
it gets a little bit tight, but it won't bother you.
Did that bother you?
No.
And it goes a little bit tight, we practice with that.
And usually you can do that.
You want to try to do that, and I will hold it here.
So it gets tight, tight, tight, and we let it go.
OK?
Good job.
So the other part we do is we make sure how much fresh air
you have in your blood.
And to do that, we actually use the pulse oximeter.
The way we do it is, you know, through this red light.
OK?
And it's really soft.
It will not bother you, OK?
And when we turn the computer on,
OK, that is how it reads, OK?
So let's see if you can try.
Ready?
So how it that feels?
Doesn't feel bad.
OK.
So do you think you will be afraid using this
when the nurses need to give you a checkup?
OK.
Thank you.
So I just wanted to make sure when the nurses are using it
and the doctors are using it, you are no concern, OK?
Because before we do anything, we are going to tell you.
So when you are here the hospital, no surprises at all,
OK?
We are here to take good care of you.
That is the reason everyone is here for.
To take good care of you, and we are
happy to answer any questions.
OK?
So do you have any questions so far?
No?
OK.
So as soon as one of the nurses, you know, gave you the checkup,
they gave you some hospital clothes.
So that is the reason I have that here, too.
You know, my friend Coco is wearing hospital clothes
so we can teach kids that in the hospital,
we need to wear these special hospital clothes.
That way, we don't bring germs.
You know, when we walk on the street,
we can bring germs from outside.
And we want to keep the hospital very
clean for you and all the kids and patient that come here.
That is the reason we need to wear the hospital clothes.
OK?
Any questions so far?
Operative Phase Teaching.
Before everyones go into the operating room,
everyone need to wear blue gowns, OK?
So here you will see everyone wear a hat.
How do I look with my hat?
Good?
That's my silly hat.
And also you will see that people need to wear a mask, OK?
Again, why do you think we need to wear this hat and mask?
Just to protect-- exactly.
Just to protect you from germs, OK?
We want to keep the operating room very clean
and safe for you, so everyone-- all the nurses and the doctor
wear hat and masks.
Post-operative Phase Teaching.
So once you are asleep and they finish, you know, the surgery,
we bring you into the waking up room.
And again, in the waking up room,
doctors and nurses will be taking good care of you,
all right?
She have her special item from home right there,
and initially, you know, you are going
to feel a little bit tired.
You know in the morning, when you
need to get up to go to school, but even
though you have to sleep so many hours,
you're still a little bit tired?
So you may feel like that when you get up.
But it is OK to go back and take a nap.
Once you are more alert, more awake, OK,
and you are not feeling tired, the nurses
in the waking up room--
recovery room-- OK, are going to give you some popsicles, OK?
Water, Italian ices.
So they are going to make sure you get some of those, OK?
Once you are alert, once you are more awake.
OK?
And after that, you know, they will be telling you,
mommy and daddy when it's time for you to go home
once you are feeling better.
And, you know, they think, "OK, now Brandon
is ready to go home."
So sometime you can have a wheelchair drive, you know,
or you can-- if you feel like--
now, you are big, so I don't think mommy
or daddy are going to be carrying you.
Maybe you're going to have a ride in a wheelchair.
OK?
And after that, you know, the nurses from the recovery room
will be calling at home just to make sure
how you are doing and talking with mommy and daddy.
If you have any questions, they know
they can call the hospital any time.
All right?
So it's going to be a short visit.
OK?
So any questions for me?
Do you think everything is explained all right?
Good.
So I will be checking in the recovery room how things went,
and if things went the way I explained it today.
All right?
So this is pretty much the preparation
I do for this age group.
And when you spoke with the doctors and the nurses,
you know, if you have any questions,
they are happy to answer the questions.
And, you know, these are pretty much,
in general, the step by steps what to expect today.
And you go to the family waiting room.
In the family waiting room, we have the surgical liaison
nurses.
Those are the nurses that will keep
you updated during the time that Brandon's
in the operating room.
Usually, if the surgical time is longer than 90 minute, hour
and a half.
After an hour and a half, every half an hour
they will be calling the operating room
to give you an update.
And as soon as Brandon is back to the recovery room,
they will bring you back there.
And also, as soon as the doctor finish the surgery,
they go to the family waiting room to meet with you
and let you know how things went.
So the whole time, there is a person that keep you updated.
And you can come to us and we can try
to answer questions you have.
OK?
Thank you so much.
You did a very good job.
I'm so proud of you.
Good job.
Thank you for watching the video that I was preparing a patient
prior his surgery.
And hopefully, it will be helpful to you
to prepare other kids and family and support them.
Thank you.
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