ment, knows when patients are
patient and swore they'd
start the drip. In addition,
if pre-op nurses started
the antibiotics when they
Cathy Reece, RN, CNOR
nurses swept by the
prepped and ready in pre-op,
and when ORs have been
turned over for the next case.
started IVs, the too-soon
delivery often didn't fall
within the 1-hour recommended timeframe. If
anesthesia hung the antibiotics, they often didn't
document that they had.
The delivery process was
inconsistent at best, which
meant our patients weren't
FIRST CHECK Pre-op nurse
Kathie Haines, RN, obtains
needed antibiotics from an
automated medication
dispensing unit at Windy Hill
Hospital.
"The nursing mantra
'You didn't do it if you
didn't chart it' is
never truer than it is
today."
receiving their antibiotics
2. Confirm
drug orders
Our outpatient surgery department is part of a large hospital,
so we fax pre-op medication
orders to the hospital's pharmacy the day before surgery. The
pharmacists prepare the medications, including pre-op antibiotics, and send them to our unit
later that day. No matter how
within the acceptable timeframe. We'd miss
medications are pulled or prepared in your
by a minute or two, but that wasn't good
facility, be sure your pre-op nurses capital-
enough.
ize on lulls in the schedule to check the
The inconsistencies pushed us to get a
better plan in place, and we've found that
the circulating nurse is the surgical team
accuracy of medication orders for the next
day's cases.
member best suited to take ownership of
the process. She interviews patients,
of birth and procedure to be performed.
ger on the pulse of the surgery departO U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
identification confirmations — name, date
needed clarification. She also has her fin-
TO
op nurses should go through the standard
has immediate access to surgeons for
SUPPLEMENT
When patients arrive for surgery, the pre-
checks allergies and physician orders, and
3 8
3. Start and
document infusions
They must then verify allergies the
J A N U A R Y 2013 | S U P P L E M E N T
TO
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E
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