Ideas That Work: Anesthesia Preferences on Demand

Practical pearls from your colleagues

Two anesthesiologists are on duty every day at Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan (OAM) Surgery Center at MidTowne in Grand Rapids. Exactly who those anesthesiologists will be differs, leading to staff using the term “doc of the day” — and each can have slightly different needs that staff must meet when they are placing peripheral nerve blocks before surgery. To simplify the lives of the perioperative nurses and anesthesiologists, the all-ortho ASC has developed a smart solution.

“There’s a lot of physician preference within our anesthesiology group,” says Prep/PACU Manager Julie Rossman, RN, BSN, CAIP. “Whenever we onboard an anesthesiologist, we jot down their preferences: ‘This doctor likes this, and he wants you to use this much.’” No matter who the ASC’s anesthesiologists are each day, staff already has cards on hand that precisely detail their individual preferences.

The idea, says Ms. Rossman, is to enhance efficiency in pre-op by removing the redundant task of a nurse asking an anesthesiologist questions about supplies and medications before each case. “It’s a good timesaver,” she says. “When you have different nurses working with different doctors, you don’t want to constantly ask what they need. This way, we can anticipate what they’re going to need and have it ready for them.” OSM