puter before a surgery and find out the
specific needs of a specific surgeon. If a
doctor submits a change to his list, we
make sure to make that change on the
card. Updated cards are essential when
assisting surgeons want to use them as
reference, too.
If they don't remember, remind
them.
We already knew the consequences of
opening and closing the door too much,
but you'll have to remind each other to
use the OR door as little as possible. Get
the message out there during a quick
gathering and stress the importance of minimizing foot traffic from an
infection prevention standpoint.
Open-and-shut case
There are any number of ways to lower your rate of surgical site
infections. All I can say is that our rate has dwindled ever since we
made a conscientious effort to reduce the number of times we open
and close the OR doors during surgery. Coincidence? No, I'd say it's
been the key to our success.
OSM
Ms. Thomas (ihmj2@hotmail.com) is an OR clinical nurse with Main Line
Health at Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital.
5
A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 9
• DON'T MAKE DELIVERIES If an item isn't need-
ed during a procedure, save your delivery until the
case is over.
