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Would You Operate On This Patient? - October 2015 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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different design and different channels, and the backup may not have been trained on it yet. If the lead person calls in sick one day, the backup suddenly has nothing to go on other than trying to read and understand the IFU, "which is a pretty scary situation," says Mr. Myers. How can you make sure your backup maintains an adequate level of competency in a one- person department? APIC recommends having the understudy do the job at least biweekly, under the supervision of the primary person. 2. Give sterile processors a hand No matter how well-trained sterile processing staff are, they still need help they're not consistently getting. Decontamination should start in the OR. "But the problem is everyone's in a hurry," says Mr. Duro. "It's, 'Let's get this stuff out of here and get ready for the next case.'" Too often, he says, instruments aren't pre-cleaned and thereby become much harder to clean, because blood, bioburden and bone dry and harden. "It's like trying to clean a lasagna pan that sat out overnight," says Mr. Duro. Instruments might need just a quick wipe down. They might need to be hit with a cloth and some sterile water. Or they may require some enzyme spray or foam. "OR staff know which instruments have been used and what needs to be done," says Mr. Duro. "It takes a little time, but it shouldn't be a deal-breaker." 1 2 4 O U T P A T 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 | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 z DRIED ON Instruments that aren't pre-cleaned in the OR become much harder to sterilize.

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