ORNAC journal
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A structured approach to communication between health care professionals contains introduction/identification; situation; background; assessment and request/recommendation (ISBAR). ISBAR was introduced into the post anaesthetic care unit (PACU) of a large Victorian health service in 2013. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of an education program on ISBAR compliance.
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Safe and effective patient preoperative skin antisepsis is recommended to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs), reduce patient morbidity, and reduce systemic costs. However, there is lack of consensus among best practice recommendations regarding the optimal skin antiseptic solution and method of application. ⋯ Using the best available evidence it was recommended that AHS standardize surgical skin antisepsis to 2% CHG in 70% alcohol as the preferred antiseptic and povidone iodine, as an alternative when CHG is contraindicated, to reduce SSIs, practice variation, and health care costs. Further research is required to determine the optimal skin antiseptic solution to reduce SSIs.
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UNDERSTANDING OR NURSES' REACTIONS TO ERRORS AND USING THIS UNDERSTANDING TO IMPROVE PATIENT SAFETY.
The operating room can be home to many different types of nursing errors due to the invasiveness of OR procedures. The nurses' reactions towards errors can be a key factor in patient safety. This article is based on a study, with the aim of investigating nurses' reactions toward nursing errors and the various contributing and resulting factors, conducted at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in Sanandaj, Iran in 2014. ⋯ The information was gathered through questionnaires that focused on demographic information, error definition, reasons for error occurrence, and emotional reactions for error occurrence, and emotional reactions toward the errors. 153 questionnaires were completed and analyzed by SPSS software version 16.0. "Not following sterile technique" (82.4 percent) was the most reported nursing error, "tiredness" (92.8 percent) was the most reported reason for the error occurrence, "being upset at having harmed the patient" (85.6 percent) was the most reported emotional reaction after error occurrence", with "decision making for a better approach to tasks the next time" (97.7 percent) as the most common goal and "paying more attention to details" (98 percent) was the most reported planned strategy for future improved outcomes. While healthcare facilities are focused on planning for the prevention and elimination of errors it was shown that nurses can also benefit from support after error occurrence. Their reactions, and coping strategies, need guidance and, with both individual and organizational support, can be a factor in improving patient safety.
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This article describes the nontechnical skill set, and behavioural rating tool, for scrub practitioners/nurses (e.g. perioperative registered nurses; operating room technicians) known as the Scrub Practitioners' List of Intraoperative NonTechnical Skills or the SPLINTS system. The SPLINTS system was developed at the Industrial Psychology Research Centre of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, by a research team comprising psychologists, scrub nurses, and a surgeon. Details of the system were presented, by Rhona Flin, at the ORNAC National and International Conference with IFPN, in Ottawa, in April of 2013. This article outlines the background of the research project and the method used to develop the SPLINTS system and suggests why it might be a valuable training and assessment tool for scrub practitioners in Canada.
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The WHO Safe Surgery Checklist (2008) patient safety focus and communication prompts are widely accepted. In many low-income regions (as defined by the World Bank and accepted by the World Health Organization) perioperative nurses have little or no formal training; continuing and in-service education are virtually unknown; nor does an articulated "culture of safety" exist. In 2009 the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) piloted a two-day perioperative nursing course, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using lectures, case studies, skills sessions, and role-play exercises based on the SSSL Checklist outline and protocols. ⋯ This article explains the need for aiding in the expansion of perioperative nursing knowledge and skill in low-income settings and provides the author's personal perspective and experience in responding to this need. Her experience as facilitator in a pilot project and subsequent course development described. The objective is to discuss ways that other perioperative nurses can work to make a positive difference on professional practice and patient care in low-income regions.