6 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R U Y 2 0 1 8
We reviewed the posters presented at the 2017 AORN Global
Conference in search of practical pearls that might improve the
patient positioning practices at your facility. Here are 5 ideas we
thought would be most helpful.
— Compiled by JoEllen McBride, PhD
• Positioning cart. Nurses at Virtua Health in Voorhees, N.J.,
created a "positioning cart" kept in each sub-sterile room for
easy access to positioning aides. osmag.net/d3GzNN
• Positioning posters. A team at Rhode Island Hospital in
Providence, R.I., developed laminated posters demonstrating the
common pressure points associated with the four most common
positions. The posters were placed on their education boards as a
reminder to PACU nurses and used in trainings.
osmag.net/PKtm7G
• Hands-on experiences. The same Rhode Island team also
created a hands-on clinic in the OR for nurses. A major compo-
nent of the training involved placing the nurses in the positions
their patients would be in so they could feel the points of pressure
for themselves. osmag.net/PKtm7G
• Pressure mapping. Nurses at Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa., investigated the use of pressure
mapping to choose the best positioning equipment. Testing com-
pared a standard gel mattress to a gel mattress with an added gel
pad. They were surprised to discover an increase in pressure
when using both the pad and mattress. osmag.net/jH2XwD
• Skin assessments. Nurses involved in each perioperative
stage at the Robert Wood Johnson Memorial Hospital in
AORN POSTERS
5 Practical Positioning Pearls
