F
or your surgeons and staff, the OR is littered with land-
mines. If they don't slip on the wet floor or trip on the criss-
cross of cords, knives and needles could poke them or toxic
plumes could choke them. But our survey of nearly 150 sur-
gical leaders uncovered an even more treacherous occupational haz-
ard: OR team members' almost cavalier disregard for their own safety.
"Let's be honest, employee safety isn't at the top of anyone's agenda,"
says Mary Foley, PhD, RN, FAAN, a clinical professor at the University of
California San Francisco School of Nursing. "We need to constantly
1 0 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 6
Surgeon and Staff Safety:
Lost in the Shuffle
• POINT TAKEN Many facility leaders say they've witnessed sharps injuries, but few require the use of hands-free passing.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
Does your OR team focus as much on its own safety as that
of the patient's?
Daniel Cook | Executive Editor