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FEBRuARY 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
Ms. Mattson (leslie@ascrubslife.com), the director of clinical operations at Nexus Surgical Partners in
Macon, Ga., has worked in ambulatory surgery management for 18 years. Check out her blog, "A Scrub's
Life," at ascrubslife.com.
leaving them for the next person. What if nobody on your staff let the
pans soak?
• You'd interview the patient before the surgeon arrives. Murphy's Law
will prove true: The patient will have to use the bathroom one more
time, the patient or family has questions, or the consent is missing a
key element. Better to resolve these issues before you retrieve the
patient.
• You'd pick cases the day before surgery. Picking the case means
instruments and implants, too. I've been stuck without an implant
when the staff assumed it's in consignment or I assumed the rep was
bringing it. If the rep is bringing an implant, supply or instrument, call
the day before to be sure.
• You'd sign off on "the pick." Create a check-off form with 3 lines: SUP-
PLIES, INSTRUMENTS, IMPLANTS. Also note on the form arrangements
you've made ("Joe the rep's bringing bone putty.").
All OR staff should pick cases for the next day. No one leaves until
cases are picked, which means the early room down and staff with
down time pick. Before a staffer leaves, she should report to some-
body that the pick is complete. And she can't soak the pans!
— Leslie Mattson, RN, BSHM
