dings. The following advice from administrators who passed their
inspections with flying colors and insider's tips from an accreditation
surveyor will have you heading into surveys confident that you'll be
ready to handle whatever comes your way.
1. Welcome without waiting
The most important thing to remember when greeting your surveyor
is to make sure they're not left sitting in the reception area for too
long before they get started, according to surveyor Ann Geier, RN,
MSN, CNOR, CASC, chief nursing officer at Surgical Information
Systems in Alpharetta, Ga. "Any longer than 10 minutes, and the sur-
veyor will believe something is wrong," she says. "It's OK to let staff
know when the surveyor arrives, but surveyors expect everyone to be
ready to go and don't want to wait around."
It's also important to provide surveyors with a private and spacious
(if possible) room to serve as their temporary workspace. "Don't put
surveyors in a staff break room because it's a public space, and they
don't want to be interrupted while they work," adds Ms. Geier.
2. Know the standards
The surveyors will be following their organization's standards, so be
sure to familiarize yourself with the expectations of the accrediting
body that's conducting your survey. (Accreditors should be able to
provide you with a survey preparedness guide.) Still, the best way to
prepare for a survey is to maintain the required standard year-round.
Individual surveyors have their own styles and areas they tend to
focus on, but addressing the following topics is a good basis for
preparing for your next survey.
• Safety and security. Surveyors will review policies and proce-
dures and make sure drills are conducted and designed to protect
4 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9
