National Time Out Day an opportunity to raise awareness, educate
By Matt Gunn
News Editor/Writer
In order to get everyone on staff familiar with the "Time Out" process at NYU-Langone Medical Center in New York, educational resource nurse Jennifer Crowley-Barnett, RN, BSN, MA, and the facility's leadership came up with a simple idea: recording a video of the Time Out to share with others.
Capturing the Time Out - a pre-surgery process/practice to verify the correct site, correct side and correct procedure - on video, turned out to be a good way to raise awareness and recognition throughout NYU-Langone.
"I think it's really great," Crowley-Barnett said. "Again, we not only have it on DVD, but it's actually on the hospital intranet. So anyone at anytime can log in and view the video. I think people really enjoy watching it live rather than have someone lecture to them."
The video submitted by NYU-Langone was one of 10 finalists submitted to AORN's first-ever National Time Out Day video contest. The contest, announced in the April issue of AORN Management Connections, asked surgical teams to demonstrate on video how they perform a Time Out following either The Joint Commission Universal Protocol or the World Health Organization Safe Surgery Checklist. Of 28 total entries, 10 were selected as finalists, while two others were given honorable mention.
Read about the finalists in AORN's National Time Out Day video contest here.
This year's National Time Out Day theme, "Every Day is Time Out Day," reflects AORN's support of the Time Out 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. AORN was joined by several organizations in promoting National Time Out Day in 2009: the American Nurses Association, the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, the Council on Surgical & Perioperative Safety and The Joint Commission.
Download the 2009 National Time Out Day poster.
"I think the most important thing about National Time Out Day is that it brings a focus to a process that must be done with every surgical procedure," said AORN CEO Linda Groah, RN, MSN, CNOR, CNAA, FAAN. "And with all the organizations we have supporting it, it really shows that everyone understands that it is important. So the focus on National Time Out Day is exactly that - it raises that awareness. I really think this year's theme, "Every Day is Time Out Day," is a great way to focus on the changes that need to occur."
Read Groah's Manager's Q&A on National Time Out Day and the video contest here.
The Joint Commission's Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person Surgery™ and the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) require verification processes and Time-Outs before making an incision.
The Universal Protocol requires: A pre-procedure verification process to be conducted; the procedure site must be marked; a Time Out must be conducted immediately prior to the start of a procedure. The Time Out itself can include a specific checklist, such as the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist.
Elements of the Universal Protocol and The WHO Safe Surgery Checklist were seen in videos submitted to AORN's National Time Out Day video contest.
"The similarities in the videos were basic but fundamental: keep it simple and make the time out practice easy enough to be compliant by the organization's teams and to completion of all components, whether using the WHO, Joint Commission or other accrediting agency checklist," said Sheila Mitchell, RN, BSN, MS, CNOR, AORN perioperative nursing specialist and contest judge. "Individual participation to communicate a team checklist execution was also a central similarity."
All entries were reviewed by clinical editors of AORN Recommended Practices and evaluated according to criteria set for compliance with either the WHO check list or the components of the Universal Protocol. The judges selected ten videos that were strong in meeting each component of the check list and, while minor discrepancies from the AORN Recommended Practices were considered as tie-breakers in the assessment, they did not prevent a video from being posted to the AORN website.
National Time Out Day, and the announcement of video contest finalists, come as the Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit is updated for 2009. The Tool Kit is updated to meet expectations of the 2009 Universal Protocol, and includes a downloadable pocket guide.
Members can access the Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit, along with other AORN Tool Kits, here. The Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit comes with one free contact hour, and is funded in part by the AORN Foundation.
"This project has demonstrated the excitement and the interest that there is in the process," Groah said. "I believe that the videos have added an extra touch to the Time Out Day and demonstrate that people want to show what they're doing, and that they are excited to tie into something that's at the national level."
Read more news in AORN Management Connections.
Capturing the Time Out - a pre-surgery process/practice to verify the correct site, correct side and correct procedure - on video, turned out to be a good way to raise awareness and recognition throughout NYU-Langone.
"I think it's really great," Crowley-Barnett said. "Again, we not only have it on DVD, but it's actually on the hospital intranet. So anyone at anytime can log in and view the video. I think people really enjoy watching it live rather than have someone lecture to them."
The video submitted by NYU-Langone was one of 10 finalists submitted to AORN's first-ever National Time Out Day video contest. The contest, announced in the April issue of AORN Management Connections, asked surgical teams to demonstrate on video how they perform a Time Out following either The Joint Commission Universal Protocol or the World Health Organization Safe Surgery Checklist. Of 28 total entries, 10 were selected as finalists, while two others were given honorable mention.
Read about the finalists in AORN's National Time Out Day video contest here.
This year's National Time Out Day theme, "Every Day is Time Out Day," reflects AORN's support of the Time Out 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. AORN was joined by several organizations in promoting National Time Out Day in 2009: the American Nurses Association, the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, the Council on Surgical & Perioperative Safety and The Joint Commission.
Download the 2009 National Time Out Day poster.
"I think the most important thing about National Time Out Day is that it brings a focus to a process that must be done with every surgical procedure," said AORN CEO Linda Groah, RN, MSN, CNOR, CNAA, FAAN. "And with all the organizations we have supporting it, it really shows that everyone understands that it is important. So the focus on National Time Out Day is exactly that - it raises that awareness. I really think this year's theme, "Every Day is Time Out Day," is a great way to focus on the changes that need to occur."
Read Groah's Manager's Q&A on National Time Out Day and the video contest here.
The Joint Commission's Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person Surgery™ and the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) require verification processes and Time-Outs before making an incision.
The Universal Protocol requires: A pre-procedure verification process to be conducted; the procedure site must be marked; a Time Out must be conducted immediately prior to the start of a procedure. The Time Out itself can include a specific checklist, such as the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist.
Elements of the Universal Protocol and The WHO Safe Surgery Checklist were seen in videos submitted to AORN's National Time Out Day video contest.
"The similarities in the videos were basic but fundamental: keep it simple and make the time out practice easy enough to be compliant by the organization's teams and to completion of all components, whether using the WHO, Joint Commission or other accrediting agency checklist," said Sheila Mitchell, RN, BSN, MS, CNOR, AORN perioperative nursing specialist and contest judge. "Individual participation to communicate a team checklist execution was also a central similarity."
All entries were reviewed by clinical editors of AORN Recommended Practices and evaluated according to criteria set for compliance with either the WHO check list or the components of the Universal Protocol. The judges selected ten videos that were strong in meeting each component of the check list and, while minor discrepancies from the AORN Recommended Practices were considered as tie-breakers in the assessment, they did not prevent a video from being posted to the AORN website.
National Time Out Day, and the announcement of video contest finalists, come as the Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit is updated for 2009. The Tool Kit is updated to meet expectations of the 2009 Universal Protocol, and includes a downloadable pocket guide.
Members can access the Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit, along with other AORN Tool Kits, here. The Correct Site Surgery Tool Kit comes with one free contact hour, and is funded in part by the AORN Foundation.
"This project has demonstrated the excitement and the interest that there is in the process," Groah said. "I believe that the videos have added an extra touch to the Time Out Day and demonstrate that people want to show what they're doing, and that they are excited to tie into something that's at the national level."
Read more news in AORN Management Connections.