when they arrive in the OR to link them to the patient and case, and to
close the loop on trays not being scanned in central sterile.
• Making change happen. After ensuring staff were properly trained on
how to use the system, I conducted daily audits for two months to make
sure sets and carts were properly scanned in sterile processing and the
ORs. Staff were aware I'd be around to check on their performance, and
answer questions and concerns they had. I also presented updated compli-
ance data at weekly staff meetings to show the team areas in which they
needed to improve and when their efforts began to gain traction.
Conducting in-person audits and providing staff with updates about
their performances are essential when implementing new practices.
Constant communication and shared data keep staff informed about
what improvements still need to be made and when their efforts were
beginning to get better.
At the end of our intervention, scanning compliance improved to more
than 80%. I stopped collecting data for six months, but decided to again
audit our staff's performance to see if the process improvements had been
hardwired into their normal work routines. The percentage of scanned
trays was about the same. Several months after I implemented the inter-
vention, staff's performance was where it needed to be. Making change
happen is hard work and takes some time to implement new practices.
OSM
7 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 2 0
in the other department. The instrument scanning technology
lets us pinpoint the locations of specific trays and ensures
instruments that belong in our inventory are returned. We've
found that fewer instruments go missing, so we've spent less
money on purchasing replacement items.
— Jon Kraft, BSN, RN, CNOR
Mr. Kraft (jonathan.a.kraft@vumc.org) is clinical staff leader for ENT and
neurologic surgery at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville.