Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/771117
way of performing the procedure and the equipment I'll need. Surgeons often walk into the OR with a sense of entitlement, and don't try to connect with the surgical team. Taking a moment to create a col- laborative environment beyond the surgical safety time out has an added impact on patient safety and ensures that the entire surgical team has a positive experience. Develop trust-based relationships At business school, I took part in a workshop designed to improve trust-based communication. When I returned to work, I helped design similar training for the perioperative team. We had participants share what they most wanted their colleagues to know about them, what holds them back, their biggest career dreams and what they wanted to be remembered for at the hospital. It was amazing to see how impactful the exercise was, even for a small group. New and deep bonds were formed over the 2-day workshop between co-workers who had been working together for 20 years. The next time one of them had a prob- lem, instead of firing off an angry email, they'd pick up the phone and ask how the other person was doing before calmly discussing the issue. During the workshop, a recovery room nurse and an anesthesiolo- gist got to know each other and developed a trust-based relationship. A week later, the nurse felt something wasn't quite right with a patient in recovery, and said she felt more comfortable picking up the phone to call the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist said he didn't hesi- tate to assess the patient instead of demanding the nurse "just follow his orders." Deep dives into data I thought I knew a lot about the business side of surgery, but my MBA made me realize I never truly understood the details of top-line 2 3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 7