To help ease pre-op anxiety, patients that are able can choose to walk into the OR rather than looking at the ceiling while being wheeled in. We've found that they experience less anxiety and feel more in control in a vulnerable situation when they enter the OR on their own two feet. A nurse assesses the patient and puts a green "walking" sign on her chart if she's a candidate to walk. The OR nurse then takes the 4 x 11 inch green paper sign and tapes it on the outside of the OR door, so that the environmental staff can retrieve the stretcher and leave it outside the OR to transport the patient back to the recovery room after surgery.

Bonnie Weinberg, MSN, RN, CNOR
Valley Health System
Ridgewood, N.J.
[email protected]