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M AY 2 0 1 5 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
One center I work with shares numerous responsibilities among its
clinical managers, including infection prevention efforts, environment
of care concerns and facility-wide safety. The PACU manager serves
as the infection preventionist and is responsible for developing and
reviewing the annual infection prevention and influenza vaccination
plans, updating policies and procedures related to infection preven-
tion, creating staff and licensed independent practitioner (LIP) educa-
tional tools, investigating reported infections or complications,
reviewing audit results and developing action plans or performance
improvement plans. She also gets help from other members of the
team (see "Infection Preventionists Can Also Manage …").
The administrator at the same center also serves as the safety offi-
cer, developing and reviewing annual emergency plans and education
programs for staff and LIPs. As the safety officer, she reviews audit
data and occurrence reports and develops action plans or perform-
ance improvement. She, too, passes key responsibilities to staff mem-
bers (see "Safety Officers Can Also Manage …").
Strength in numbers
At a time when surgery centers and surgical departments are asked to
do more with less, the clinical manager model combined with empow-
erment and shared responsibilities of multi-disciplinary teams will
continue to grow in popularity and effectiveness. Nowadays, one per-
son cannot do it all. Letting key members of your team manage specif-
ic clinical care needs based on their strengths and interests creates a
more engaged, high-performing team. OSM
Ms. Mentz (tina@squarepeg.io) is president of Square Peg Consulting in Oswego, Ill.
