FROM HEADQUARTERS

Every day is Time Out Day

On June 17, AORN and perioperative professionals will take the opportunity to recognize National Time Out Day and remind every member of the surgical team how critical it is to take "Time Out" for patient safety to confirm correct patient, correct procedure and correct surgical site before every invasive procedure.

Wrong-site surgery and other preventable mistakes still occur too frequently in U.S. operating rooms. That's why in 2004, The Joint Commission released the Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person Surgery™ urging that a Time Out precede every surgical procedure to verify the correct patient information prior to incision. In support of the Universal Protocol, AORN began sponsoring National Time Out Day to raise awareness about the importance of requiring the entire surgical team-including physicians, nurses, and surgical technologists-to pause before all invasive procedures to communicate as a group and confirm key information about the patient and procedure to help prevent errors from occurring.

This year, AORN has collaborated with the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (AAAASF), the Council on Surgical & Perioperative Safety (CSPS), and The Joint Commission to create a poster to remind professionals, health care providers, and administrators that "Every Day is Time Out Day."

AORN will also release an updated Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit in June. Watch for news of its release in upcoming issues of Member Bulletin. Included in the revised tool kit will be several member videos demonstrating proper Time Out execution. To learn more, visit aorn.org/ToolKits.

Learn more about National Time Out Day.

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