Internal Medicine
Annual Report 2022
Our Internal Medicine department specialises in helping to care for our patients before and after surgery, if required. Incorporating such professional internal medical treatment into the clinic’s care programme enables even patients with complex underlying conditions to undergo orthopaedic surgery and find a new joy in their mobility.
Everyone needs to be able to move in a pain-free manner, regardless of how old they are and whether they suffer from other illnesses. Depending on the situation, orthopaedic surgery can help and significantly improve a patient’s quality of life. However, with older patients or those with secondary conditions, the risks associated with this kind of surgery also increase – and with them the need for thorough, safe treatment.
Comprehensive care
The care of our orthopaedic patients by our Internal Medicine department has long been part of everyday life at Schulthess Klinik. On the Orthopaedics PLUS ward, elderly patients and patients with secondary diseases receive intensive interdisciplinary and individual care. This includes orthopaedics and internal medicine staff doing joint ward rounds, following clearly defined processes and having specially trained nurses and physiotherapists on hand.
Clinical nurses: valued by patients, doctors and nurses
The job description “clinical nurse”, which was introduced at Schulthess Klinik in 2018 – one of the first Swiss hospitals to do so – has become an integral part of everyday hospital life. Clinical nurses are qualified nurses who have undergone additional training. They take on various clinical/medical and administrative duties normally carried out by doctors and are an integral part of our medical team. For example, they attend doctor’s briefings, complete morning rounds and perform clinical examinations. They also prescribe medication under the doctors’ supervision, write prescriptions, create discharge plans, and much more.
Clinical nurses act as a bridge between the doctor, patient and nurses. They are often the first point of contact for patients and relatives. Everyone benefits from having an intermediary between the various professional groups. Junior doctors’ workload is reduced, meaning they can focus more on their activities in the operating theatre and consultations. Patients benefit from having a consistent contact person. And nurses also appreciate the continuity of clinical nurses as, unlike junior doctors, who rotate through several departments as part of their training, clinical nurses stay in one department for the long term.
What began in 2018 with Rahel Käufeler, as the first clinical nurse, is now a team of seven staff members under her leadership. In addition to three orthopaedic departments, the Internal Medicine department (the Orthopaedics PLUS ward) was also assigned two clinical nurses last year. The care they provide and their close cooperation with the internists and the surgeon add an enormous amount of value, especially for elderly patients or those with secondary diseases. These patients in particular need more sophisticated, holistic treatment. Often they are hospitalised for longer, so they not only benefit from the continuity these staff members provide in the medical sense, but are also very appreciative on a human level.
