6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
Ideas Work
P r a c t i c a l p e a r l s f r o m y o u r c o l l e a g u e s
That
D
oes your turnover
team empty the
trash or remove
dirty linens while patients
are still in the OR? Not only
is this practice distracting
to the providers caring for
the patient, but it's also the
perfect setting for cross-
contamination. I've seen
nurses gathering dirty
instruments in carts to take
to central sterile while the
anesthesia tech is setting up
for the next patient in the
still-dirty room. Even if sur-
geons are pressuring your turnover team to work quickly, they should-
n't enter the room until the patient is wheeled out of the OR. Your pol-
icy should state that environmental cleaning should occur after each
patient, but not until the patient has left the area — whether it be the
OR, procedure room, pre-op or PACU — per the 2018 edition of
AORN Guidelines for Perioperative Practice.
Libby Chinnes, RN, BSN, CIC, FAPIC
IC Solutions
Mount Pleasant, S.C.
libbychinnes@gmail.com
TURNOVER
Don't Clean Until the Patient Leaves the Room
• RESIST THE URGE In the quest to start the next case as soon as possi-
ble, it's tempting to start the turnover process while the patient is still in
the room.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
