Clinical

Evidence Based Practice

Risk Management

Turn Off the Music! Time Out to Count! #1088 (0.50 CH)

1088 - Turn Off the Music! Time Out to Count! #1088 (0.50 CH)

Speaker(s)

• CB

  Carole Baldwin, BSN, RN, CNOR

  Staff Nurse
  Mercy Health Partners
  Hamilton, OH
• SM

  Stephanie Matusak, BSN, RN, CNOR

  Unit Based Educator, Clinical Nurse
  Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital
  Fairfield, Ohio

Retained Surgical Items (RSIs) are a serious and avoidable event. This preventable medical error can lead to a serious negative outcome for patients, as well as a significant financial impact for the hospital involved. Distractions during the count process can lead to errors resulting in patient harm. This study took place in an acute care, 200-bed community hospital. The unit selected was the cardiovascular OR (CVOR). A quasi-experimental prospective research design was used to study the number of distractions that occur during the surgical count process and the impact that “Time Out for the Counts” has on distractions.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the avoidable distractions during the surgical count process.
• Describe the time out for count process and how it contributes to decreasing distractions and enhancing patient safety.