8 2 • 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 7
T
hings weren't adding up, remembers Jeanie Brown, BSN,
RN, CNOR, perioperative manager at Parkwest Medical
Center in Knoxville, Tenn. The consent form indicated
the left knee was to be operated on, but the schedule
said it was the right knee that needed repair. That's when
one of her circulating nurses issued a hard stop, discussed the surgi-
cal site with the patient and called in the surgeon to resolve the later-
ality issue. There was no way a wrong-site surgery was happening on
the nurse's watch. "Conversations about patient safety must be con-
stant," says Ms. Brown. "If you communicate ineffectively or fail to
communicate at all, you're setting patients up for harm and your col-
Every member of the surgical team has a responsibility to speak
up when patients might be harmed.
Daniel Cook | Executive Editor
SURGICAL
ERRORS
If You See Something, Say Something
• TALKING POINT The quality of communication in the
OR impacts complication rates and surgical outcomes.
