same space. Time spent hauling equipment back and forth can be
time wasted. "When arranging the schedule, I try to keep similar pro-
cedures in the same room," says Ms. Reynolds. "For example, in OR 2,
I may put all the right shoulder scopes. That keeps my circulator from
having to move equipment around as frequently."
16. Flip rooms. By scheduling your most straightforward proce-
dures — those with no implants — on the same day, you can maxi-
mize efficiency, says Lynn Krokoff, MS, RN, CNOR, executive director
of a Fayetteville, Ga., surgery center. "One surgeon, 2 rooms," she
says. When the surgeon finishes the first case, a P.A. closes and the
surgeon exits. That's the signal for the next patient to be taken into
the next room. The surgeon can then dictate and speak to the family
while Patient No. 2 is positioned and prepped. "We always try to be
one step ahead," she says. Surgeons love eliminating the gap between
procedures, and there's little or no downtime. Just be sure the sur-
geon has time to mark every surgical site in pre-op.
17. Emphasize communication between the OR and sterile pro-
cessing. Keeping sterile processing in the loop as cases wind down so
they know trays will be arriving shortly helps them be prepared to
turn those trays around as quickly as possible.
18. Standardize to one vendor. When Ms. Quinn started at her sur-
gery center, it was dealing with 3 vendors. "It was a nightmare," she
says. "Each physician had his own pump and everything else." Not for
long. "It was a dog and pony show that lasted about 6 months, but
each vendor had to bring in all their video systems, cameras and
scopes for a 2- or 3-week trial. It came down to which one gave us the
best deal." And what about the surgeons whose favorites lost the com-
petition? "They complained a lot in the beginning," she says, "but in the
bigger scheme of things, they know the service we get now is phenom-
enal. We have a rep here almost every day, which is great."
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