O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 4 7
what it was like to have to tell the patient. He also explained how much he
depends on nurses to be the voice, to count correctly and to let him know if
anything is missing. And he took responsibility for the role he plays in sweeping
the wound at the end of the case. He's a part of the process, he said, not just a
bystander.
Never again
Empathy is powerful. In the 3 years since I completed this exercise, nurses here
have really taken the issue to heart. It's been several years since we've had an
incident, and I expect our success to continue. None of us wants a patient to be
a victim, nor do we want to be victims ourselves.
The nurses who'd been through a retained item event said the experience made
them extra cautious about taking the time needed to do it right. They also felt
compelled to encourage the people around them to pay stricter attention. They
felt more empowered to speak up and demand complete focus while the counting
happened. Those are important messages for you and your staff to hear.
OSM
Ms. Morrison (denice.morrison@nkch.org)
is the perioperative education coordinator at
the North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital.
