The nurse is a member of the multidisciplinary cardiovascular (CV) rehabilitation team composed of cardiologists, a physician, a psychologist, a Bachelor of physiotherapy and a bachelor of occupational therapy. The nurse is charged with planning, organizing, monitoring, providing and evaluating health care. Upon the first arrival, the nurse makes the patient familiar with the CV rehabilitation program and opens the necessary medical records. Besides, the nurse plans a required workup, participates in conducting certain diagnostic procedures and therapeutic education, observes and informs cardiologists on the pathological findings. (
At the beginning of the rehabilitation process, following the examination conducted by a cardiologist, the nurse takes medical history and status, and while changing the standardized and non-standardized forms she makes nursing diagnoses (
lack of knowledge and skills on CV diseases - symptoms and proper action to be taken in case of discomforts, variable risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes, smoking, etc.) and the importance of adherence to and way of action of prescribed therapy
feeling of pains and discomfort in the chest
reduced effort tolerance
reduced capacity for physical and mental work.
The patient is often facing social isolation and the loss of support, and some active patients fear the return to the workplace.
After making nursing diagnoses, the goal is to be achieved by therapeutic education, thematic workshops and individual counseling for both patients and their family members. The purpose of the lectures and workshops is to provide education about the importance and possibility of influencing variable CV risk factors by non-invasive diagnostic procedures in cardiology. We pay special attention to the education of patients with newly diagnosed diabetes, where patients are educated and advised individually.
During the implementation of the CV rehabilitation program, where a patient is to be referred to the hospital, a nurse participates in his management. Then new nursing diagnoses are made, the most common are the fear of recurrent disease and pain.
In order to achieve the desired goal, it is important to create a motivating atmosphere, use medical knowledge and social skills and work in a team. The nurse in the CV rehabilitation ward should not only be a professional, but also the patient’s partner and a person that helps the patient. Her availability, expertise and support are an important part in the way to adopt a healthy way of living.
The nurse’s job is demanding and responsible. The advancement of medicine requires a lifelong learning and adoption of new knowledge and skills. Although the nurses are always ready to acquire new knowledge, cooperate and adapt, we are sad that our work has remained unrecognized through the codes of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund.