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A N E S T H E S I A
too early and too unassisted, or who is burned when a numbed
extremity is warmed too actively. So ensuring patient safety is clearly
a huge concern, and education is necessary for your nursing staff as
well as your patients and their caregivers.
Train your block nurses in accordance with an established protocol.
With regard to regional anesthesia, consistency in practice is just as
important as a skilled staff, a designated block room to save OR time,
or an ultrasound machine for provider confidence. For quality, safety
and efficiency, the process should be carried out the same way every
time, from the contents of the block cart to the brightly colored socks
on fall-risk patients' feet in PACU to the discharge instructions you
give patients and their escorts, pre- and post-op.
Patient education is critical. You're sending them out the door with a
JOB SATISFACTION
Do Nerve Blocks Mean a Happier Staff?
I
n addition to boosting your business, nerve blocks may also create a
happier staff. I've seen it myself. Nurses may complain that they're
overworked, overstressed and underpaid. PACU nurses in specific
may be fatigued from the post-op pain they treat again and again. But
make them part of a regional anesthesia team, on which they see themselves making a measurable difference in patient care, and their job satisfaction is likely to go through the roof.
— Emily DeBusk, RN
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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 | N O V E M B E R 2012
