I'm not sure if it is because we have incredible autonomy in my unit, but we do what we feel is prudent. We have a good amount of standing orders and policies to cover us, but nothing on stripping. That said-- if a fresh heart is juicy and becomes clotty, it would be doing harm to not strip your chest tubes. Occasionally, a surgeon or intensivist will stop by and do a little stripping himself (scandalous, I know! :rotfl:)- they would rather you get the chunks out than end up sucking them out at the bedside an hour later when we have to crack the chest.