The nurse must contact the surgeon to provide additional information to the patient, even though it will push back the surgery. The patient clearly has an inadequate understanding of the upcoming procedure, which has significant lifelong implications. It is outside nursing scope of practice to tell the patient the gallbladder must be removed due to damage caused by gallstones. It is insufficient to simply ask the patient if he or she would like to speak with the patient; the patient may not want to bother the surgeon, which would result in the patient undergoing a surgery for which he or she is not fully prepared. The surgeon should talk to the patient as many times as necessary to provide sufficient preparation for the surgery; this dialogue does not end when the consent is signed.