National Time Out Day

June 12, 2024

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Take Time to Empower Improvement

"As the patient advocate in the OR, perioperative nurses must be passionate champions for an effective Time Out."
- AORN CEO Linda Groah MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN

Time Out provides the very last safety check before incision for the team to communicate and catch any information that has been dropped or noted incorrectly, "Just one error at any time in the preoperative process can and does cascade to patient harm," says Joint Commission Chief Patient Safety Officer and Medical Director Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS.

June 12 is National Time Out Day - a time when every perioperative team can reinvigorate the ways they keep patients safe in every procedure. Read more about why National Time Out Day is important.

Time Out Best Practices

Understand the 4 steps to achieve and maintain best practices in your Time Out.

Recognize your team’s achievements in patient safety on Time Out Day

Learn More

Recognition Resources

Speak Up, Reach Out for Safe Surgery Together

AORN nurses are committed to safe surgery together. National Time Out Day is a powerful tool that supports nurses’ ability to speak up for safe practices in the operating room. The day also provides an opportunity to educate your community about this important practice so they can be better informed patients.

Legislators are not often familiar with what happens in an operating room. As legislation comes across their desks that impacts the OR, it is crucial that they understand the role of RN Circulators, particularly as advocates for safe surgery. The Time Out Day observance highlights your role in patient care and commitment to patient safety as the perioperative nurse caring for your patients.

AORN encourages perioperative nurses to write to your legislators about the importance of taking a time out for every patient every time. Consider asking them to pass a proclamation honoring perioperative healthcare workers on June 12 for National Time Out Day.

If you receive a response from your legislator, please let Jennifer Pennock, AORN Government Affairs Associate Director, know.

Time Out Tips

  • Schedule a lunch-and-learn with a Time Out cake for the perioperative team and your facility’s leadership. “Walk through” your Time Out processes together and ask the team to identify improvements that will reduce the risks for wrong-site, wrong-procedure, or wrong-patient surgeries.
  • Have a cupcake party to celebrate your perioperative quality outcomes and call out your Time Out champions.

Take Action Now

Want to go a step further? Send a letter to the editor of your local paper! Your friends and neighbors may not be familiar with what happens in an operating room. The Time Out Day observance highlights your role in patient care and commitment to patient safety as the perioperative nurse caring for your patients. AORN encourages perioperative nurses to write letters to their local papers to educate readers about the importance of taking a time out for every patient every time. 

Contact Jennifer Pennock for sample text and instructions for submitting your letter electronically to your local paper.