Help!!! need OR indicators defined

[OPCC]

Please correct if I am wrong in my difinitions:

Patient Out - Pt. leaving the OR

Patient In - Pt. being brought into the OR

Surgeon Out - Surgeon has completed closing and leaves room

Surgeon In - ??? Actual procedure start time by surgeon OR does it mean time the surgeon enters the OR suite???

I think my turnaround times are not too bad. My problem is we have the patient on the table ready to go and surgeon is talking on the phone, talking to family of the last case or seeing a consult patient... Is this a problem for any of you guys.

[ebear, BSN, RN]

Hey, 92mxmom!

Under NO circumstances should the pt. be placed under anesthesia until the doc has started to scrub! Besides being charged very expensive O.R. time (wasted), what if the pt. crashes after induction and the surgeon is eating or goofing off? Not a good idea... This issue needs to be discussed with the dept. manager. ASAP. May be a good idea to discuss with the Association of Operating Room Nurses staff. AORN.org

Denver, Co.

ebear

[amberfnp]

ebear,

I do agree that this is not good practice. It does not happen often that the patient is waiting under anesthesia for any great length of time, but unfortunately it does occur.

I personally do not work in the OR, primarily pre-op and PACU, but I believe the routine is pt to the OR, patient prepped, put under then MD called. They like them ready when they arrive. They don't want to stand around and wait.

Some at our office seem to have the mentality that "thats the way it's always been". There are just some areas where they are resistant to change. Sad but true. Not that there is not some safety risks associated with that, but luckily, knock on wood, I have not seen any patient harmed due to that particular issue. Just waisted time and money and, in my opinion, it is just plain rude to patient and the staff.

[OPCC]

:typing Thanks to all of you who have replied. I will add to my scenerio: I go out and pick up the patient after Doc and the CRNA have finished their interviews. The CRNA is always present on our arrival in the OR., patient is positioned and monitors attached and everything is ready to go - all for the Doc. The CRNA does not start the anesthesia until Doc is in the room. I really would be having fit if my patient was lying there under anesthesia with Doc out interviewing other patients or just talking on his darn cell phone.

In our little hospital I know it is different than working in a big hospital with numerous surgeons and tight time schedules but our surgeon does not even start our surgery day until 9:30 am or 10:00. Between cases he is out in the pre-op area interviewing his next patients, talking to the family of the last case, seeing consults patients because that is when he wants to see them (in between his cases), on the computer internet, or on his cell phone or ????. How the heck does a person ever get a handle on the situation?? He is a great surgeon and we are lucky to have him come to our community on a regular schedule but I just wish things would move along a little smoother. Example: We have had a patient on the cart ready to start a colonoscopy and Doc is standing in the ante room talking on his phone while we all just twiddle our thumbs until he is ready.