G
iven the
chance, some
surgeons
seem to want to down-
play the importance of
surgical checklists.
Some view the pre-op
handoff/checklist as a
waste of time, since a
pre-incision/pre-surgi-
cal pause is performed
in the OR. But why
wait until the patient
is on the table to discover an error? We make our checklists mandato-
ry, beginning with the first phase and the pre-op face-to-face handoff.
Our practice is to not allow our patients to leave the pre-op area until
all components of the pre-surgical checklist are addressed and each
item is initialed by both nurses participating in the face-to-face hand-
off. We used to hear, "Oh, I'll get the surgeon to sign that in the OR."
But we decided that wasn't good enough. Surgeons may "protest"
from time to time, but the practice makes everyone more diligent
about making sure business is taken care of the way it should be.
After all, we are our patients' advocates and it's our responsibility to
make patient safety our highest priority.
Linda W. Frix, RN, BSN, CAPA
Northern Virginia Surgery Center
Fairfax, Va.
lfrix@fairoakssc.com
2 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 Y 2 0 1 6
• PAPERS IN ORDER? Patients don't leave pre-op until the pre-surgical checklist is complete and both nurses in the
face-to-face handoff initial each item.
The OR's Closed Until
Pre-Surgical Checklist is Complete
Linda
W.
Frix,
RN,
BSN,
CAPA
Ideas Work
That