Building the Ready for My Surgery program as been an exciting and rewarding journey. If you or a loved one has been scheduled for surgery, my goal is to help you be better informed and empowered along the way. I hope this program serves you well.
My name is Patrick Nellis. I’ll share with you a little of my story to help you get to know me a little better. I hope you’ll share some of yours with me as well!
Most of my career as a healthcare professional was spent practicing at two large university teaching hospitals in downtown Toronto, Canada. My formal training as a Respiratory Therapist was followed by specialty training in anesthesia. As an Anesthesia Assistant, I was a member of an Anesthesia Care Team providing anesthesia care to patients receiving a wide variety of surgeries.
During this time, I was also fortunate to be an educator to many healthcare professionals at the bedside and in the classroom. This experience was valuable as I transitioned to the private sector, providing bedside clinical education to anesthesiologists, anesthesia assistants and other professionals on new advanced medical technologies.
This work gave me the opportunity to travel extensively, spending weeks at a time in operating rooms across Canada. This broad exposure to the Canadian healthcare system (and patient care, more specifically), offered me a perspective that has helped shape the resource that has become Ready for My Surgery.
This project began with a goal of reducing the fear and anxiety experienced every day by people as they make their way through the journey of surgery. There is no shortage of unknowns for most people travelling down this path – the operating room, the surgery itself, managing pain and managing at home afterward.
As I pursued this goal with my book Ready For My Surgery: Be Informed, Stay Safe and Take Control During Your Journey Through Surgery, it became clear that there is a larger need to be met. This need is to engage each person having surgery in a way that enables them to take control of their health and healthcare. This does more than reduce anxiety, it has the potential to improve outcomes from surgery and significantly improve the patient experience. To help meet this need, the book has evolved into a program that also includes a website, email series, podcast, forum and surveys to capture your voice and experience.
This has become a passion for me. My hope is that you are empowered by what you find here. If you are new to this website, visit the Start Here page to take your first step in your journey with me.
Talk soon,
Patrick