Undergoing Psychological Assessments For Spinal Stimulation Surgery

By Joseph Cooper


Part of the Hippocratic oath that doctors take involves doing no harm to patients. To ensure they do not do any kind of harm to their clients, they are required to perform thorough examinations to determine people's overall readiness for certain procedures. In particular, surgeons are often obligated to probe the mindset of patients who come to them for help. By performing extensive psychological assessments for spinal stimulation surgery, surgeons can determine how ready people are to undergo these procedures.

For many people, the idea of going through an operation even one that is relatively minor can be particularly nerve wracking and frightening. For example, they may not want to think about being put to sleep under general sedation for an unknown amount of time. They might be afraid of not being able to wake up and lingering in a coma. They also may be afraid of what the surgeons and nurses will do to them during the time they are sedated. This loss of control can be enough to damage an already fragile person's psyche.

Some of your fears may come from the simple fact of not knowing what will go on when you are asleep. You fear not knowing what parts of your body will be cut open and who will be in the operating room while you are under anesthesia. Having these concerns addressed could calm most or all of your worries.

Yet another aspect of this assessment will delve into your readiness to be an active part of your own recovery at home. During the time you are in the hospital, you will be at the whims of your nurses and doctors. You will not have much choice but to follow along with whatever they tell you to do. When you are at home, however, it will be up to you to follow your doctor's orders. Your care team will need to understand your willingness to do what is asked of you while you recuperate.

At the same time, the examination will delve into how realistic people are about what will actually happen to them during and after the operation. For some people, the hope of being totally cured is too tempting to resist. They have to be corrected and told the likelihood of what will occur once they are sent home.

If you harbor unrealistic goals for yourself, your care team will attempt to correct you. They will tell you what is more likely to happen and why your goals may not be realistic at all. Once you are corrected, you will then be assessed again for your readiness to undergo the surgical process.

Likewise, depending on your mental readiness, the team in charge of your care may decide that you would do well to take certain medications to keep you calm and focused. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines might become a regimented aspect of your care. They will allay your worries and also put you in the right mindset.

Going through most kinds of surgery typically will involve going through a thorough psychological assessment first. This test will be administered several days or weeks before the actual operation is scheduled and done. It is one aspect of making sure the doctor does not do any more harm than absolutely necessary to the patient in question.




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