4 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
T
he best-
laid
patient
position-
ing plans
often go awry as soon
as surgeons walk into
the OR. "It's often
done according to
their preferences,
which is a problem,"
says Lisa Bachetti,
BSN, RN, CNOR,
CNIV, staff nurse at
Penn Medicine at
University City
Ambulatory Surgery
Center in
Philadelphia, Pa. "We
have four surgeons
who want patients
positioning differently
for shoulder arthroscopies. Three want patients in the lateral position,
but each has slightly different variances on how they want it done.
The other surgeon prefers to operate on patients in the beach chair."
The issue at Ms. Bachetti's facility was a lack of detailed position-
ing information for OR staff to reference. "A surgeon's preference
Joe Paone | Senior Associate Editor
Positioned for Change
Reviewing and revamping your positioning protocols will protect patients from
harm and give surgeons the access they need to perform successful surgery.
• BE PREPARED Give OR teams access to educational and informational tools
that standardize patient positioning for different surgeons and procedures.
