groups or with trained perioperative nurses can prepare and monitor
the patients who are next in line for surgery while the current case is
still underway, ensuring that regional won't be to blame if there's a
delay.
Building a block team may require investments in additional
staffing or education sessions for some of your nurses, but it'll pay
off: not just in saved time, but also in the quality of pre-surgical
care. "In the ASC arena, communication between anesthesia and
nursing is a must," says Annette Svagerko, RN, BSN, CNOR, the
OR program manager at the Westerville (Ohio) Surgery Center.
"When all groups work together, the throughput is optimized and is
safer."
If you're able to designate a space for your block team to set up and
work in, so much the better. "There are things that are best accom-
plished before surgery," says Ms. Frederick, "and a block room can
help you to formulate your regional anesthesia before everybody is
waiting for you."
A block room doesn't necessarily have to be a room. A pre-op
bay set aside for the morning will do. As an added bonus, "patients
receiving a block in a dedicated block room do not count as
'patient in the room' for the purposes of reporting," says Kerry
Cook, clinical director of perioperative programs at Queensway
Carleton Hospital in Ottawa, Canada.
Ultrasound imperatives
Anesthesia providers and physicians can select the patients who will
make the best candidates for regional anesthesia during their pre-sur-
gical assessments, but on the day of surgery, clinical realities some-
times throw a curve.
What causes nerve blocks to fail? There are a number of potential
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