Cynthia Spry

Workplace Safety Equals Patient Safety

or many years, AORN has been a leader in creating a safe environment for the patient in the OR and other procedural areas. Perioperative nurses provide care that adheres to the AORN standards and recommended practices. AORN provides orientation tools like Periop 101: A Core CurriculumTM. Collaborations among AORN staff members, member volunteers, and representatives of other organizations have resulted in tool kits to address safety factors such as surgical briefings, time out, and debriefings. I believe that workplace safety is an integral part of patient safety. There are many pieces to creating a safe work environment, and much work has been done by AORN in cooperation with experts in various fields and health care organizations.

Rigid Endoscopes—Ensuring Quality Before Use and After Repair

Rigid endoscopes are complex, expensive, and fragile devices that routinely are subjected to harsh conditions. An endoscope used during only one procedure typically will be handled by a minimum of six people. Understanding what can go wrong with endoscopes and how to test them can help staff members detect problems before rather than during surgery. This article reviews some simple tests that can be used to ensure endoscope quality and provides information about how to demand excellence in endoscope repair.

Many Organizations: One Voice

erioperative nurses and nursing organizations throughout the world share the common goals of identifying evidence-based best practice and improving patient care. These goals are often best achieved through collaboration, partnerships, and knowledge sharing—all of which are priorities of the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses (IFPN). Although many US perioperative nurses are aware that the IFPN exists, they often have little knowledge about the organization. Because the IFPN has the potential to impact our practice, we, as perioperative nurses, should be knowledgeable about it. The purpose of this column is to raise awareness of an organization with the potential to speak for our profession. BACKGROUND

A western OR delegation to the People's Republic of China.

Nursing in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is beginning to revitalize after decades of the repression and obliteration of nursing education programs under the rule of Mao Tse-tung. A delegation of American, Australian, and Canadian perioperative nurses traveled to the PRC for a series of professional exchanges with Chinese OR nurse colleagues. The exchange was an affirmation of the common commitment to caring that all nurses share.

Different but Similar

In the United States, we continue to argue the merits of making a bachelor’s degree the requirement for entry into the practice of nursing. We lament the fact that there are few schools offering a perioperative nursing elective course. We fear a future with an ever-growing elderly population and a shrinking pool of nurses. Although we have made strides in salaries for nurses, we often believe pay does not reflect the responsibilities nurses have to manage, including using increasingly high-tech equipment and creating and maintaining a safe patient environment. We have successfully waged a very long battle for recognition in the legislative arena to achieve the mandate in 20 states that the person in the circulator role during surgery must be an RN. Nurses in other parts of the world have many of the same concerns that we have in the United States. They, too, are engaged in efforts to improve working conditions, enhance patient safety, and develop and implement educational programs specific to perioperative nursing.