out those key peo-
ple. "This suggests
inadequate systems
and vulnerability to
breaches any time
that person is not at
the helm," she adds.
Theadus Stallings,
RN, clinical manager
of Carolina
Gastroenterology
Associates in
Wilson, N.C., sounds
another note of caution: "Even though an employee may have been
taught to do all the steps correctly, that doesn't mean they're doing all
of the steps when they're not being observed."
Not only is the process "very time consuming with its many steps,"
notes another respondent. "But they also seem to add requirements
that change the processes and make it difficult to keep current."
And if everything isn't done perfectly every time, "the whole enter-
prise comes crashing down," says Ms. Ofstead.
"We're human," says another respondent. "So one is never safe from
the possibility. One missed step could cause an incident."
Self audit
Do you frequently audit your endoscope reprocessing practices? What
about cleaning verification tests and/or visual inspections to ensure
that endoscope reprocessing is being done correctly every time? 89%
of our respondents say yes, they frequently audit, and 87% say they
test or inspect. That's the good news.
1 3 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 • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7
• OVERLY DEPENDENT? What happens if the particularly diligent individual who makes sure all steps
are followed to the letter doesn't show up one day?
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
