experienced techs, are invaluable tools during new hire orientations
and prove useful when staff from outside of central sterile are pressed
into duty during busy days to reprocess instrument trays.
April Pendleton, RN, BSN
Dennett Costin, RN, BSN, CNOR
Saint Luke's Cushing Hospital
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 7
H
ow can you expect your recovery room nurses to be on the
lookout for pressure injuries when they don't know what
position the patient was in during surgery? A simple solu-
tion that worked for us: We collected simulated photos of different
positions — prone, supine, lateral, beach chair, high/low Fowler's,
split leg, supine hip and robot — laminated them and put them in a
red binder to show to our recovery room nurses. The photos high-
light likely pressure points so our PACU team can monitor patients'
skin — and not focus on the swollen face or blotchy skin that likely
had nothing to do with their positioning in the OR.
Katherine Buckhaults, MS, RN, CNOR
Sheila Capasso, MSN, RN, ANNCN-AG, CAPA
The Miriam Hospital
Providence, R.I.
Help Your PACU Nurses Picture the Patient's OR Position
• PHOTO FINISH A collection of positioning photos remind PACU nurses where to look for pressure injuries.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
PRESSURE INJURIES
kbuckhaults@lifespan.org
scapasso@lifespan.org
Leavenworth, Kan.
apendleton@saint-lukes.org
dcostin@saint-lukes.org
