on reading the policy does not mean she actually read it or will retain
it.
• Instill a "do-your-job" mentality. Don't rely on your non-scrub
person pulling the policy up on a computer and telling everyone what
to do. This doesn't represent the team approach that is vital to handling
an incorrect count. Also, having one person telling everyone else what
they should be doing is too much responsibility for that one person.
Likewise, it can cause animosity between members of the team. Each
team member should fulfill their obligation.
• Don't play the blame game. To avoid finger pointing, everyone in
the OR should be aware of each other's duties when you respond to
an incorrect count. That's one of the beauties of the poster:
Everybody can see what everybody should be doing every step along
the way.
Calm, cool and collected
Our algorithm has helped us standardize our count practice, and it
can do the same for you (download a free PDF at outpa-
tientsurgery.net/forms). We hung it on the wall so no one would
have to think about what to do during an incorrect count. Just calmly
look up and follow the steps.
OSM
J u l y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 7
Ms. McKisson (emily.mckisson@osumc.edu) is a nurse educator at the Ohio
State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
