Nurses Offer Helpful Tips to Patients Prior to Undergoing Surgery

DENVER -- Concerned that serious errors that may be preventable are occurring in the operating room, AORN, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, has developed guidelines to help patients ensure positive surgical outcomes.

AORN's "Advice for Patients Concerned About Correct Site Surgery" document contains useful information to help patients prior to undergoing a surgical procedure. AORN is providing this advice to the public as part of its comprehensive national initiative, Patient Safety First, which is designed to save lives and reduce the incidence of errors in the operating room. The initial focus of the program is correct site surgery. Much has been reported about "wrong site" surgery, which is defined as any surgery performed on the wrong site or the wrong patient and/or performing the wrong procedure.

AORN, a widely recognized authority for safe operating room practices, represents more than 40,000 members in approximately 6,700 hospitals and 3,500 ambulatory surgery centers in all 50 states and around the world. Donna Watson, RN, CNOR, president of AORN, said patients must take a more active role in managing their own healthcare.

"Research shows that stresses on the healthcare system, from the nursing shortage to other preventable errors, may cause up to 98,000 deaths each year," Watson said. "AORN developed these guidelines to help surgical patients help themselves. We believe strongly that one patient harmed is one too many."

As posted on the AORN Patient Safety First Web site, www.patientsafetyfirst.org , the guidelines are:

1. Be an active member of your healthcare team by taking part in every

decision about your health care.

2. If you are having surgery or other invasive procedure, make sure that

you and the health care professionals treating you all agree on

exactly what will be done during the surgery or procedure.

3. Verify the information on your patient identity bracelet. Alert a

member of the health care team if the information is incorrect and

insist that it be replaced immediately.

4. Make sure the operative permit you sign includes the correct

information about your surgical site (i.e., right or left) and

procedure. Thoroughly read all medical forms and make sure you

understand them before you sign any forms.

5. Ask to have the surgical or procedure site marked on your body with

an indelible marker. If possible, be involved in marking the site.

6. Ask questions and speak up if you have any concerns. Keep asking

questions until you understand the answers. Ask members of the

health care team what steps will be taken to ensure your safety and

correct site surgery.

7. Take a responsible family member or friend to accompany you to your

doctor's visits and on the day of your surgery or procedure so that

they can serve as your advocate and speak up for you if you are

unable.

8. Ask that your surgical team includes a registered nurse who is a

member of AORN.

AORN is mobilizing the medical community and has established a hotline and Web site so healthcare professionals can ask safety-related questions, share comments and suggestions, and report concerns and/or incidences of surgical error. The public is also welcome to use the Web site as a resource. The Patient Safety First hotline number is (866) 285-5209; the Patient Safety First Web site is located at www.patientsafetyfirst.org Patient Safety First is sponsored by Sandel Medical Industries, Chatsworth, CA, www.sandelmedical.com .

AORN is the professional organization of perioperative registered nurses whose mission is to promote quality patient care by providing its members with education, standards, services, and representation. AORN is composed of more than 40,000 perioperative registered nurses in the United States and abroad who manage, teach, and practice perioperative nursing; who are enrolled in nursing education; and who are engaged in perioperative research. Perioperative nursing practice is defined as "those activities performed by the professional nurse in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of the patient's surgical experience."

AORN provides continuing education opportunities for perioperative nurses through seminars; clinical articles in the AORN Journal; and its annual Congress, which offers technical and scientific exhibits and educational sessions by speakers recognized in their fields. AORN publishes SSM and hosts SSM Online, both featuring information about trends in management and the surgical environment.

Source: PRNewswire