Help out a fellow OR RN

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Please help me in collecting data in regards to surgical counts. I need 46 more responses to reach my goal. It will take u less than 5 minutes I promise.

[h=4]1. Please fill in the name and location of your hospital.[/h]

[h=4]2. What system is in place for counting in your Operating Room?[/h]Whiteboard

Paper

Other (please specify)

[h=4]3. Is your counting system:[/h]Functional

Movable

Easily Accessed

None of the Above

[h=4]4. Is the surgical count visible to all team members?[/h]Always

Sometimes

Never

[h=4]5. Is patient information displayed for all team members to view: name, allergies, weight etc..[/h]Yes

No

[h=4]6. How are Surgical Counts documented in patient record[/h]EPIC

Paper

Cerner

NextGen

Other (please specify)

[h=4]7. Is the actual time the surgical counts took place documented?[/h]Yes

No

[h=4]8. Are the initial counts completed prior to the patient entering the Operating Room?[/h] Never Sometimes Usually Always

[h=4]9. Are there interruptions during the surgical count?[/h] Never Sometimes Usually Always

[h=4]10. If you had access to an advanced counting system would you be interested in using it?[/h]Yes

No

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1. Please fill in the name and location of your hospital.

Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Center, Santa Fe NM

2. What system is in place for counting in your Operating Room?

Whiteboard- for tracking all soft counts

Paper- sent up in instruments trays and used to count instuments- hang on/next to whiteboard

3. Is your counting system:

Functional

Easily Accessable

4. Is the surgical count visible to all team members?

Always

5. Is patient information displayed for all team members to view: name, allergies, weight etc..

Yes

6. How are Surgical Counts documented in patient record

Cerner

7. Is the actual time the surgical counts took place documented?

No

8. Are the initial counts completed prior to the patient entering the Operating Room?

Most of the time, ALWAYS before timeout!

9. Are there interruptions during the surgical count?

Sometimes, but if so we restart, people are pretty good at not interupting!

10. If you had access to an advanced counting system would you be interested in using it?

not sure what an advanced counting system is…

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

1. Please fill in the name and location of your hospital.

Sorry, no. I value what anonymity I can have here.

2. What system is in place for counting in your Operating Room?

Nurse and scrub count. Sponges and needles are written on a white board for all to see. All counted items are written on a preprinted count sheet with no numbers. We have preprinted specialty sheets (cardiac has a count sheet, neuro has a count sheet, general has a count sheet...).

3. Is your counting system:

It's a piece of paper on a clipboard. It works.

4. Is the surgical count visible to all team members?

The whiteboard is. The count sheet on the clipboard is not.

5. Is patient information displayed for all team members to view: name, allergies, weight etc..

In surgeries where such info is rather pertinent to the surgery itself (the big cases: cardiac, vascular, peds)

6. How are Surgical Counts documented in patient record

EPIC- there's a space to document the two who counted, whether it was correct or not, if the room was searched, if an x-ray was taken, what radiologist read the x-ray and the results.

7. Is the actual time the surgical counts took place documented?

No

8. Are the initial counts completed prior to the patient entering the Operating Room?

Depends on the case. Some have major setups and anesthesia inserting lines. In cardiac, we never count before the patient is in the room but will do so once the patient is asleep and anesthesia is placing the swan/central line.

9. Are there interruptions during the surgical count?

Only in emergencies... and half the time we don't get a chance to count at all in those instances.

10. If you had access to an advanced counting system would you be interested in using it?

If you're referring to those RFID chip things, absolutely not. Technology is not perfect. Reliance on technology has led to errors when people have to go without due to malfunctions/downtime/what have you. Our method works. No need to fix what isn't broken with something insanely expensive.

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1. Please fill in the name and location of your hospital.

Large teaching hospital in urban setting.

2. What system is in place for counting in your Operating Room?

Scrub counts, nurse watches and verifies. Write all countable items on white board for all of room to see and reference except instruments. We use sheets that instruments sets come up with on case cart and mark directly on those papers for the instrument counts. Only count instruments if opening a body cavity or potential (laparoscopic/robotic). When adding suture to the initial count, nurse writes what kind of suture it is (3-0 poly, 2-0 silk, etc).

3. Is your counting system:

Functional and efficient

4. Is the surgical count visible to all team members?

yes except the instruments are on a piece of paper. Ive never had a doctor ask to see a count or reference the white board for verification. Scrubs look at white board to confirm what they have on their field is what is on the board.

5. Is patient information displayed for all team members to view: name, allergies, weight etc..

yes, on white board we write patient name, mrn, allergies, procedure, all team member names (anesthesia, residents, etc), t&c status, airway issues, antibiotics ordered, and counts.

6. How are Surgical Counts documented in patient record

We use Epic. You document which count is it, who counted, who verified, result of count, MD notified, and if wrong, was cavity searched, x-ray taken, etc.

7. Is the actual time the surgical counts took place documented?

there is a box to chart it but no one ever does

8. Are the initial counts completed prior to the patient entering the Operating Room?

no hard rule on this. whenever there is a moment to count and scrub is ready, we do it. It can be before patient is in the room or when surgeon is scrubbing at the sink about to come in.

9. Are there interruptions during the surgical count?

Technically, according to policy, no. real world: always.

10. If you had access to an advanced counting system would you be interested in using it?

used to work in a place where you scanned soft goods prior to counting. the package had a bar code. then at the end, you scanned the each individual item out. ex: scan the wrapper for a pack of laps. at end of case, scan all laps out individually. you always manually counted items like all other items so as not to rely on the system but it was a nice validation. then i started working at a place that didnt have that system and it definitely made me pay way closer attention to the counts and i worried a lot more because i couldnt rely on the system for verification. I liked the scanning and would use it again....is it expensive and worth it? that decision is above my pay grade :)

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1. Please fill in the name and location of your hospital.

Outpatient surgery in the midwest

2. What system is in place for counting in your Operating Room?

Whiteboard

3. Is your counting system:

Functional

Easily Accessed

4. Is the surgical count visible to all team members?

Always

5. Is patient information displayed for all team members to view: name, allergies, weight etc..

No

6. How are Surgical Counts documented in patient record

Paper

7. Is the actual time the surgical counts took place documented?

No

8. Are the initial counts completed prior to the patient entering the Operating Room?

Usually

9. Are there interruptions during the surgical count?

Sometimes

10. If you had access to an advanced counting system would you be interested in using it?

Not Sure

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