they hoped safety scalpel manufacturers would make, nearly all
wished for a safety mechanism that is easier to activate and deacti-
vate.
"Some are easier to use than others," says one. "When it takes time
and it takes 2 hands [to activate], there is a greater risk of an injury."
Says another: "A better mechanism than a sheath that is sloppy. It's
not machined to be a very solid or precise piece of gear." One wished
for left- and right-handed sheath cover activation.
Persistence pays
If your surgeons have shunned safety scalpels from their ORs, press
on with pleasant persistence. First, a trial. Then, maybe a conversion.
"We just ask the surgeons to try them, and tell them we are required
to test safety blades on a yearly basis with documentation, and they
have no problem," says Jane Bell, RN, BSN, nurse manager of
Cityview Surgery Center in Fort Worth, Texas. "It took a while for
them to get used to the devices, but now they like them."
OSM
M A Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 3