![]() ![]() It does little good if your nurses conduct time-outs off in a corner by themselves without surgeons, anesthesia and the rest of the staff - some of whom could be indifferent and view time-outs as just another "nursing thing" that doesn't concern them. She no longer uses the kazoo before every case, but it sits in her locker, just in case. It worked, she says, and thoroughly entertained the nurses, techs and (some of the) surgeons. On a whim, Barbara Harvey, RN, of the Fredericksburg (Va.) ASC, bought a kazoo to announce time-outs. The gong is available in office-supplies catalog for about $75. When the recorder strikes the wall-mounted gong, it commands the OR team's attention and sets the intention for a proper time out before every procedure. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, Mich. A 14-inch-wide Tibetan gong hangs in each of the 24 operating rooms, endoscopy suites and cath labs at St. Hospital personnel designed the towels in response to a wrong-site surgery at the facility. Paul, Minn., cover the instruments for each case with a time-out towel to remind the OR team to stop for a time-out before making the first incision. For you do-it-yourselfers, here are a few more creative ideas to get the team's attention: Everyone must stop what they're doing and be mindful, engaged and focused on patient safety before the incision.Ĭolorful reminders certainly help, products like checklists, posters, bags, stickers on syringes, hoods that cover the scalpel, reminder sleeves on the Mayo stand, cloths placed over the instrument tray or near the surgical site. How do you guarantee your staff participates with the surgical time out? For starters, you must get their attention, which is difficult to do during the busy few minutes before a procedure. You want everyone taking their positions around the bed and identifying themselves by name (see "Embroidered Scrub Caps Make Close-Knit Teams" here). Active participation means not mindlessly nodding so that they can get on with the case already. The nurse calls out the correct site and procedure, and all again orally confirm. The circulator confirms the patient's identity by the name tag on his wrist, and all verbally state confirmation. ![]() Require a spoken response from each team member: circulator, surgeon, anesthesia, scrub tech and any additional ancillary staff present during the case. SAFETY PAUSE The entire surgical team must be present, and actively and verbally participate in the time-out to verify the patient's name and the surgical site before incision.Ī time-out is not a time-out unless all members of the surgical team are present, proactive and participate. ![]()
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