1 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 1 6
A
s a pre-admitting nurse
in the outpatient sur-
gery unit at Legacy
Good Samaritan Medical Center
in Portland, Ore., Linda Boly,
RN, was an unwilling contestant
in a game of Beat the Clock. As
part of the hospital's productivi-
ty quota, she was expected to
make 8 to 10 pre-op patient
phone calls in an 8-hour shift. Making this game even more challeng-
ing: Most of her calls were to elderly cataract patients who didn't
always speak fluent English or who had complicated medical histo-
ries.
"They might have 30 medicines that I need to record in an electronic
health record. That alone can take 20 to 30 minutes, typing at a fairly
fast clip," says Ms. Boly.
She couldn't always keep up with the patient-per-hour pace, some-
times completing only 6 patient charts in a shift. Rather than hit the
numbers, she'd rather spend more time with a patient who needed it
than the quota allowed.
"These are not numbers," she says. "These are patients. If you're
rushed, you might miss telling them what they need to do to prepare
for surgery."
From December 2012 to June 2013, Ms. Boly was written up 3 times
for failing to meet productivity quotas and for "working off of the
clock" by completing chart work at the end of the day.
Fired for Fighting for Patient Safety
Pre-admitting RN says hospital's call quotas jeopardized patient care.
Editor's Page
Dan O'Connor
Linda Boly, RN
