Cardiac pre-admission teaching program.

The Royal Columbian Hospital's (R.C.H.) Cardiac Pre-admission Clinic (PAC) in New Westminster, B.C., is an effective new program for patients planning elective coronary angiograms, coronary angioplasties, and cardiac surgeries. Patients are seen in the out-patient clinic approximately one week before their procedure for nursing assessments, diagnostic pre-operative testing, and screening of test results. These pre-admission activities provide the opportunity for the early detection of abnormalities. During the clinic appointment patient teaching is also done. As a consequence, these assessment and teaching activities contribute to the overall PAC goal of improving bed utilization. Since cardiac teaching is a strong clinic focus, teaching plans were developed regarding: coronary angiogram, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) Surgery. These detailed teaching plans serve as a reference tool for the clinic nurse and as a guide for new clinic staff. The following article discusses the teaching program's background, design, structure, and evaluation. The benefits of pre-admission teaching are presented and the specific CABG surgery teaching session is described.