Does anyone do the Pre-op interview after the patient is in the OR?

[DeLynn, RN]

I have worked in 6 different ORs, five as a traveler. Every one so far, the circulator does the interview in the pre-op area. Well, I am currently in a small surgery center, and some of the nurses do the interview after the patient gets to the O.R. It has been an ongoing debate, one of which is with a Tech that feels it's unnecessary for the nurse to be gone so long to interview since we don't have ancillary help to clean up between cases. Except for an emergency(which we don't have in a surgery center) I feel the pre-op interview needs to be done in pre-op and before versed. Does anyone else interview when the patient enters the OR? Our Manager backs up those who want to interview in the pre-op, but since not everyone does it, it's an issue.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Never have I interviewed a patient in the OR, with the exception of a conscious trauma patient, and it was basically a quick allergies, metal, removables, latex allergy? kind of thing where the patient wasn't so critical to need intubation but still far too critical to not be brought up directly from the ER in a hurry. Asking a sedated patient questions typically asked preop while alert and oriented is setting one up for disaster, IMO. Not a safe practice.

[NYRNOR]

I work in a large trauma center. Ideally we are to go to pre op to see the patient, but due to workload and time constraints its often just not possible. I would say its about 50/50 how many nurses do one or the other. And I agree that its a dangerous situation.

[Rayray15]

I work at a large level one trauma center and part of our green light process is that the patient must be checked in by the or nurse in preop before the patient can go back to the or, for the exception of emergency cases. Anesthesia cannot bring the patient back until we check them and sign the chart allowing them to come back.