Combining systems and teamwork interventions improves patient safety
Editor's Note Patient safety approaches that combine teamwork training and systems interventions are more effective than either approach alone, this study finds. The study involved 4-month safety improvement interventions in 5 UK hospitals using teamwork training (TT); systems redesign and standardization (SOP); Lean quality improvement; SOP plus TT; or Lean…
Professional peer review compels staff to improve performance and quality--Part 1
The most successful perioperative services leaders are those who have built excellent teams that balance individual responsibility and accountability with respect for all team members, regardless of the roles they play. To create that culture, OR leaders must model the behavior and attitudes they expect from their staffs. One way…
ST to RN program speeds nurse orientation and bolsters perioperative workforce
When it comes to filling OR nursing positions, finding candidates who can fit into that environment is one challenge, and getting them up to speed quickly is another. Perioperative nurse leaders and educators at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, have found it worthwhile to invest in their surgical technologists…
OR team uses evidence-based practices to reduce readmissions
Concerted efforts to reduce readmissions have paid off at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. Among its bragging rights since launching an initiative last year: decreased length of stay for colorectal surgery patients and a downward trend in readmissions. To learn how they did it, OR Manager spoke with…
Empowering staff yields high return on investment
Building healthy relationships between leaders and employees is vital to the success of any organization. It’s especially important in perioperative services because of the teamwork needed to provide safe patient care. OR leaders must invest in their employees by fostering trust, job embeddedness, and employee commitment, empowerment, and accountability. …
SCOREing patient safety with a proactive approach
Avoiding preventable harm in the OR is the goal of any surgical services department, and meeting that goal requires excellent communication and collaboration among staff members. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Safe Care in the OR Everytime (SCORE) project has raised awareness about safety and engaged front-line…
Shared governance teaches staff to take ownership of decision making
Certain words and phrases are used frequently in nursing—sometimes so frequently that their true meaning is lost. For some, the term “shared governance” is one of those. What is shared governance? “A dynamic staff-leader partnership that promotes collaboration, shared decision making, and accountability for improving quality of care, safety, and…
Editorial
Every perioperative services staff member, at every level, contributes to the success or failure of the department. Exceptional leaders understand this, and they are most successful when they discourage intimidation and invite everyone to take ownership of their roles. Teamwork in the OR is the next frontier in quality perioperative…
Communication, collaboration, commitment are cornerstones of high reliability healthcare
Providing dependably excellent care for all patients all of the time is the essence of high reliability healthcare, as defined by the Joint Commission in its 2013 report. Two large health systems—Kaiser Permanente and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital—are on the path to becoming highly reliable organizations. In recent years, improved processes…
No time to waste: A children's hospital Lean team streamlines its turnover process
Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) is renowned for patient care, but by early 2013 the increased complexity of new technology and other factors had eroded efficiency. Orthopedics had fallen to the bottom quartile compared to national benchmarks for turnover times, and executive leadership called for change. Within orthopedic surgery,…
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