Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Snuffing Out Surgical Smoke - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - December 2019

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/1191268

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 65 of 156

6 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 M y mission from hospital leadership: Reduce sharps injuries in our 2 regional hospitals by 5% in a year. We far exceeded our goals, managing a 60% reduc- tion from 2016 to 2018. While the first steps were to educate surgeons and staff about sharps safety, and reinforce and implement best practices, I truly believe that the changes in our follow-up process are what really drove the reduction. Essentially, we went from impersonal electronic communications to judgement-free face-to-face conversations. We made sure we didn't make those who'd been stuck feel like they've done something wrong. Instead, we asked if they were OK and focused on helping them pre- vent a repeat occurrence. That simple shift from blaming to caring made all the difference. Here's how we made the improvements. How We Slashed Our Sharps Injuries Best practices are a must. But replacing emails with conversations and blame with caring is what really made our sharps injuries drop. Sheri Tadlock, BSN, RN | Belleville, Ill. • A PLACE OF THEIR OWN A designated tray for syringes used in surgical settings can go a long way to making sure they make it to the disposal container without injuring anyone. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers - Snuffing Out Surgical Smoke - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - December 2019