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T U R N O V E R
the start of each case to ensure all supplies and equipment are present,
says Michael Seator, MBA, BSN, Harper's administrative director of surgical services. The team also removes the used case cart from the room,
cleans the room and begins opening essential supplies while the surgical
tech scrubs and the circulating RN check the next patient.
Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, Northwest Michigan Surgery Center
Choreographed steps
Teamwork is essential to fast turnover, but choreography runs a close
second. In room turnover, choreography — which literally means
"dance-writing" — means many moving parts moving with purpose,
precision and urgency. Check out some of your colleagues' fancy footwork:
• Parallel Processing. "Once the patient is wheeled out of the
OR, the RNs and techs break down the room simultaneously while
housekeeping begins
the cleaning.
Housekeeping used to
wait until the nurses
were done, which
bloated turnover times
to more than 40 minutes. Now, turnover is
15 to 20 minutes," says
Lorraine Ensminger,
MSN, perioperative
educator at Jersey
City (N.J.) Medical
SPIC 'N' SPAN The turnover team at Northwest Michigan
Center.
Surgery Center in Traverse City, Mich., takes out the trash
and linen, transports the dirty instruments, mops the room
• Facilitator
and resets for the next case.
Nurse. "The facilita-
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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 2013
