Disorganized OR

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

I work in a large teaching hospital. Our ORs are for the most part organized. However, we are constantly searching for essential equipment such as axillary rolls, gel pads for ulnar protection, safety straps for the OSI beds...it is so frustrating. Although we have an equipment room, it is cluttered and there is no one that manages the room. Sometimes I will spend 15 minutes looking for a freaking safety strap.

What have been some solutions that you all have come up with to combat this problem?

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

have whoever can order stuff get you two safety straps for each OR. make sure people realize that they are only making themselves look foolish when they dont put stuff back where it goes since they end up looking for it when it isnt available. They can blame the or manager all they want but it is the circulator that is responsible to have their stuff in the room for the case and not anyone elses.

Anyway, try to keep one on the bed and one in your supply cart as extra... We also have one cart with about 10 axilary/chest rolls on it in one general location on each floor. We have alot of positioning equipment that all goes to the same room on each floor after each case. The attendants/techs/nurses all have to take the responsibility together to keep everything as it should be. Find out who is the slacker/slackers and stay on them. They are detrimental to the department functioning smoothly.

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Specializes in PeriOperative.

Do we work in the same OR???

Many people in my OR have the privileged of their "own" rooms -- this means they can keep them stocked and have designated locations for equipment and supplies that they use frequently. And they can guard their stuff against those who come in and steal it. That cuts down on about 25% of the pointless running.

If I know I will need something for my next case that tends to disappear (like a Jackson table -- that's right our BEDS walk off!), I will call the charge nurse to 1. make sure one is available, and 2. put it outside of the room.

The other thing you can do, if you have the initiative, is form a committee to solve some of the bigger problems (which is how you have to do it in big teaching hospitals).

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
Do we work in the same OR???

Many people in my OR have the privileged of their "own" rooms -- this means they can keep them stocked and have designated locations for equipment and supplies that they use frequently. And they can guard their stuff against those who come in and steal it. That cuts down on about 25% of the pointless running.

If I know I will need something for my next case that tends to disappear (like a Jackson table -- that's right our BEDS walk off!), I will call the charge nurse to 1. make sure one is available, and 2. put it outside of the room.

The other thing you can do, if you have the initiative, is form a committee to solve some of the bigger problems (which is how you have to do it in big teaching hospitals).

Oh yeah, I think we just may work in the same OR! The scenario you are describing is exactly the same in my OR. There are lots of teams that have their own rooms. The problem is that everyone needs safety straps, ax rolls and gel pads. All of which seem to disappear from my room when it is turned over. I have proposed the idea of making the equipment room much like the pharmacy-an attendant is there to check stuff out, you have to sign for it, and then there is actual accountability. My idea was taken by my NM and filed in the circular file. So much for initiative, huh? I will keep at it, though. It is ridiculous how much time the RN spends simply finding essential supplies.

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Specializes in OR.

Ask the manager to get a label-maker unit....then form a team to label shelves/walls/carts/etc so there is no question as to where items should be returned after use. Also, if there is room in a cabinet or cart in each OR, it should be routinely stocked with pillows, gels, foam, etc. We have OR Assts who help with gathering supplies and cleaning/turnover/transporting/etc, it is part of their job to stock the designated cart in each room as well as return other items to the storage rooms where shelves are labeled. A little checklist for each OR is also helpful--safety strap, IV poles x2, ring stands x4, back table, prep table, pillows x4, foam padding x1 bag, axillary roll, etc..whatever you can keep in each OR and will need for most cases.

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Specializes in Obs & gynae theatres.

Have you heard of TPOT in the States? We're just starting it over here.

It stands for 'The Productive Operating Theatre'. Might be worth looking it up for some ideas?

P.S Note the English spelling of theatre though :nurse:

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Thanks for the lead to the TPOT, very interesting link.

I would love to see the day when staff could make it their own

and design solutions to issues/problems in their specialty

in the USA.

My experience has been like CanesDukegirl's

" My idea was taken by my NM and filed in the circular file."

With the exception of when the NM took full credit for my idea/s.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
Have you heard of TPOT in the States? We're just starting it over here.

It stands for 'The Productive Operating Theatre'. Might be worth looking it up for some ideas?

P.S Note the English spelling of theatre though :nurse:

Nice! Both of my parents are British, so I have to actually make an effort to spell the words "theatre, colour and favourite" to the standard American spelling! Thanks for your response.

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Specializes in OR.
Have you heard of TPOT in the States? We're just starting it over here.

It stands for 'The Productive Operating Theatre'. Might be worth looking it up for some ideas?

P.S Note the English spelling of theatre though :nurse:

definitely helpful. we are starting this productive theatre programme in our theatres as well. everyone gives ideas so it is actually working because the ideas come from bottom up approach

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We have nursing assistants (CNAs) that are responsible for stocking the equipment in the rooms at night and keeping our equipment room straight. We page our CNAs during each case to get us our equipment/supplies for the next case, ie: positioning equipment for lateral positioning, yellow-fin stirrups, or harmonic cautery unit... They place it outside of our door. When we are closing we page our POD leader (this is a RN who helps turnover the room,opens with the tech, and counts for the circulator while he/she takes the current patient to PACU and then gets the next patient with anesthesia). It costs $$$ for staff but we have quick turn-overs and can get more cases in per day increasing productivity and decreasing overtime.

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Specializes in 2 years school nurse, 15 in the OR!.

I'm with you, looking for stuff drives me crazy. In my OR, you can find the beachchair positioner, but half the parts are missing. You can find the McGuire hip positioner but only half of it. The Jackson Table? Somebody broke the hip pad and didn't tell anybody, so you just find the broken part. The Alvardo for total knees? The plates are all missing. Somebody threw away the perineal post from the fracture table. Don't even get me started on my axillary rolls. We had 1 for each room, they all disappeared. We even lost a 10 pound sandbag. You go into the room and we have a seat belt, but somebody cut the freaking belt and it's too short for our large patient. I could go on and on. There has got to be a solution. If you figure it out, for the love of god let me know...

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Specializes in OR.
I'm with you, looking for stuff drives me crazy. In my OR, you can find the beachchair positioner, but half the parts are missing. You can find the McGuire hip positioner but only half of it. The Jackson Table? Somebody broke the hip pad and didn't tell anybody, so you just find the broken part. The Alvardo for total knees? The plates are all missing. Somebody threw away the perineal post from the fracture table. Don't even get me started on my axillary rolls. We had 1 for each room, they all disappeared. We even lost a 10 pound sandbag. You go into the room and we have a seat belt, but somebody cut the freaking belt and it's too short for our large patient. I could go on and on. There has got to be a solution. If you figure it out, for the love of god let me know...

OMG, too funny, i think you must work with me! only solution i can think of is to have our own suitcase on wheels with everything in it! we did solve the missing alvarado knee plate issue by asking CSP to sterilize ALL the parts....that way the scrub can hand of the non-sterile pieces, and then they all go back to CSP in the dirty case cart--pieces stay together and we KNOW they get cleaned! when the plates just lay around, I'm never sure how well they've been cleaned.

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