Vendors who work with high-volume surgeons are often in the ORs 5
days a week. We provide those familiar faces with standard plastic ID
badges.
Some facilities require vendors to wear red bouffant surgical caps to
make them stand out in the OR. If your vendors balk at wearing those
bright, clown-hair-like caps like ours did, assign them specific colored
scrubs. Our reps must don gray scrubs — the same color worn by
members of our supply chain team — that they purchase from our
health system. Besides setting vendors apart from perioperative staff
and surgeons, the scrubs, unlike the red bouffants, also make vendors
feel like professional members of our team.
Conduct annual competencies. All vendors should undergo
annual tests about your policies and procedures and other
requirements your facility puts in place before they can enter your
ORs. Have they had their flu shots? Do they understand sterile tech-
nique and how to properly wear PPEs? Did they sign off on accepted
ways to interact with surgeons and bring new products into the OR?
Vendors can use our vendor tracking system to complete annual com-
petencies at their convenience. If they don't remain current with your
core competencies, the tracking system won't print them an identifica-
tion badge when they attempt to sign in. It's an easy and convenient
way to ensure only approved vendors have access to your clinical
areas.
Set clear expectations. Vendors must follow the same rules of
the OR that govern the behavior of every member of the surgical
team, including donning proper attire such as eye protection and shoe
covers. We let our reps carry smartphones in the pockets of their scrubs,
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