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/1284191
These methods are more effective than picking up the phone and calling for help, which could pro- voke the agitated individual even more. "It's another level of security for our staff," says Ms. Wellott. "But we have also trained them to say in a nice, calm voice, 'I'm here to help you, but let me go get my nurse manager.' People appreciate it when you're willing to retrieve a higher-up to help them." Ms. Wellott, because of her role as the safety and infection coordinator at the facility, and the nurse lead often get called in to diffuse troubling con- frontations. "I have a knack for dealing with frustrat- ed patients," she says. "Everybody likes to call me 'the softie' because I have a way with people." 3 2 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0 HONORABLE MENTION Empowering Employees to Protect Themselves Have you ever seen something like this occur in your ORs? During a procedure, a nurse acciden- tally dislodges the oxygen tubing. The anesthesi- ologist notices the patient is not oxygenating and quickly reconnects the tubing, but yells at the nurse for the mistake. Most nurses would just chalk the incident up to another day in the OR, but at PIH Health Downey (Calif.) Hospital, they can submit an Unusual Occurrence Report to Muriel Moyo, MS, BSN, RN, CCRN-K, NE-BC, the administrative director of surgical services. She reviews incidents and submits them to the hos- pital's quality department or recommends them for peer review in order to further investigate and address the issues. "I always thank staff for bringing their con- cerns to me and fully support them," says Ms. Moyo. "If there's a problem, we need to talk about it. I've seen a greater openness and willingness to discuss issues. Our depart- ment's overall performance has improved because of this." The surgical department also boasts a staff- run shared governance council that meets monthly for in-depth discussions about staff concerns and ways to improve patient care. Staff develop comprehensive action plans and process improvement projects. Ms. Moyo believes the council has empowered the staff. "Instead of having a vertical leadership model, we exhibit a horizontal system," she explains. "It's not always about being authoritar- ian because it's very easy to tell people what to do. It's important to give staff members a voice." — Danielle Bouchat-Friedman PAPER TRAIL Staff fill out Unusual Occurrence Reports, which administration reviews and addresses. VOICES OF REASON Regular meetings of the shared governance council give staff a say in finding solutions to their concerns. PIH Health Downey Hospital EMPLOYEE SAFETY