Enhancing Patient Outcomes in Orthopedic Clinics: The Interdisciplinary Role of Nurses, Physiotherapists, and Medical Secretaries-Pelvic Fracture as a Model
Abstract
Background: Pelvic fractures are complex injuries with high risks of hemorrhage, multisystem involvement, and long-term disability. Optimal outcomes depend on coordinated, interdisciplinary care, particularly from nurses, physiotherapists, and medical secretaries, across the continuum from resuscitation to rehabilitation.
Aim: To synthesize role-specific contributions of nurses, physiotherapists, and medical secretaries in orthopedic clinics, using pelvic fracture care as an archetype, and to map these contributions to measurable patient and service outcomes.
Methods: Narrative synthesis of current clinical pathways for pelvic fracture evaluation, stabilization, and rehabilitation; role delineation across care phases (prehospital, emergency, operative, inpatient, rehabilitation, and post-discharge); and identification of outcome domains influenced by each profession.
Results: Nurses drive hemodynamic surveillance, hemorrhage mitigation, early complication detection, patient/family education, and coordination of trauma protocols; physiotherapists deliver staged mobilization, gait training, pelvic floor and core rehabilitation, and functional capacity rebuilding; medical secretaries enable continuity through scheduling, information flow, documentation integrity, benefits navigation, and inter-service logistics. Interdisciplinary alignment is associated with reduced time-to-stabilization, fewer preventable complications, shorter length of stay, earlier mobilization, improved functional scores, and higher patient satisfaction.
Conclusion: In pelvic fracture care, integrating nursing vigilance, physiotherapy-led functional recovery, and medical-secretarial coordination yields superior clinical and operational outcomes. Formalizing shared pathways, handoffs, and metrics should be a strategic priority for orthopedic services.
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Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Muneera Hassan Albuaijan, Hoor Jawad AlQasim, khaled lafi jazi Al-Balawi, Mohammed Salem ALMOTAIRI, Tasneem Hejje ALKHAIBARI, Sahar Rubayyi Albalawi, Awadh Saleh Alamri, Nawal Jadaan Almotairi, Aljawharah Ali Alabsi, Meshal Nashi Ayad Alshaibani, Bayan Osama Muhammed Mugharbel
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