geons' preference cards to ensure the items are picked and ready in
the room before each case. You don't want to give your staff the
opportunity to not comply with your prepping protocols with "sup-
plies aren't easily accessible" and "it's inconvenient" excuses. The goal
is to make your standardized skin prep methods easy to implement
and impossible to ignore by giving staff the tools and knowledge they
need to do the job correctly each time.
3. Wear proper PPE
Staff members who perform
preps should wear long-
sleeved scrub tops or jack-
ets, according to AORN rec-
ommended practices. The
coverage provided by long
sleeves prevents squamous
epithelial cells from falling
into the sterile field and
increasing the risk of infec-
tion. The Joint Commission
also recommends that you
clearly identify the staff
members who are perform-
ing preps. We chose distinc-
tive pink prepping gowns to
make it clear who in the OR
is responsible for prepping
the patient's skin for sur-
gery. The pink gowns alert
members of the surgical
1 0 • 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 8
• ON SITE Prepping requirements differ depending on the type and loca-
tion of surgery. For example, chlorhexidine-based products can't be used
around the eyes.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
