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IDEAS THAT WORK
KEEP SURGEONS MOVING
Signs That Tell Your Surgeons Where to Go
H
ere's a simple way to direct surgeons where to go between cases, which is
especially helpful in high-volume specialties when a single doc might alternate cases between multiple rooms. Print out 2 signs likes the ones above:
• one on red paper directing surgeons to stop what they're doing and head to pre-op
to mark the next patient;
• the other on green paper directing them to keep moving to the next OR because
the patient there is prepped and ready for surgery.
Align the 2 sheets back-to-back, and laminate them together or place them in a
clear plastic sleeve. Have the circulator — who has her finger on the pulse of the
day's schedule — place the double-sided sign (with the correct side up) on the paperwork surgeons must sign after cases end.
Surgeons appreciate knowing immediately where they're needed next, and have told
me the system keeps them from standing around while someone checks on patients —
delays they often use to check their smartphones and waste even more time. The surgical team says the signs are a simple, but effective, way to let everyone in the room
know where surgeons are heading next,
which leads to better time management
Jenny Blanton, RN
Physicians' Eye Surgery Center
Charleston, S.C.
blantonj@thepesc.com
2 0
Jenny Blanton, RN
for everyone throughout the day.
STOP AND GO Surgeons
don't waste time figuring
out which stop is next.
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2013
