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running 3 full procedure rooms from 7 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and a
fourth room until noon.
How do they do it? Here are a few keys to success from some of the
country's busiest GI centers.
1. Staffing
Looking back, Ms. Hunt says she took 2 invaluable things with her
when she left the hospital GI unit to serve as the administrator of the
outpatient endo center: a solid clinical background and a talented
group of handpicked colleagues she pulled from area hospitals.
"The one thing they all shared? They're really good independent
workers who also work well as a team," says Ms. Hunt. "When you've
got the right mix of people, your patients will notice and your efficiency will soar. Things just flow better."
There's plenty you can do to promote teamwork. For starters, says
Ms. Hunt, make sure everyone has clear expectations and clear
assignments. She remembers how the assignments weren't clear at
the busy hospital unit, how 3 or 4 prep and recovery nurses were
mixed together, how whoever happened to see the patient's chart on
the counter would admit the patient. As she says, "People need to be
told, 'This is what you're going to do. You're in charge of this.'"
Rather than assign 3 nurses to recovery and tell them to divvy the
work amongst themselves, assign a PACU nurse to each procedure
room. If Dr. Jones is doing 14 cases in 1 room, he knows that he'll
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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 | F E B R U A R Y 2013
