is coming from other members of the surgical team.
Ms. Prince suggests creating PowerPoint presentations and handing
out scientific research on the topic. Email team members reputable
research papers — studies not sponsored by the manufacturers of
smoke evacuators — that show overwhelming evidence of the haz-
ards of surgical plume (here's one: osmag.net/Rnj6ZW).
Most surgical professionals, surgeons primarily, want to see clear
clinical evidence before they agree to change how they operate. "I
provided our team with Level 1a evidence, because it's hard to argue
with empirical research," says Ms. Prince.
She also conducted educational in-services and invited guest speak-
ers to present to the surgical team about the importance of smoke
evacuation. Her persistence and prodding paid off. "Staff began to do
their own research," says Ms. Prince. "They were empowered by their
knowledge of the facts and were inspired to speak up."
Don't hesitate to lean on vendors to support your efforts to get evac-
uators into your ORs. They of course want to sell you their products,
but they're also experts on how their devices work and advocates for
creating smoke-free work environments. "We worked closely with the
makers of smoke evacuation devices to find cost-effective options,"
says Ms. Zhou. "They gave us really good products to trial and con-
ducted educational sessions."
Alexandra Muehlbronner, RN, BSN, BS, an OR nurse at Penn
Presbyterian Medical Center, says implementing smoke evacuators
into everyday use is a much bigger process than you might realize,
one that includes presenting to and gaining approval from different
committees or administrators and finding cost-effective products.
She shared a PowerPoint presentation on the dangers of surgical
smoke with her staff, and emailed the presentation to the chief of
anesthesia in an effort to inform leadership in all departments that are
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