Collaborative Working

In accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO 2008) checklist and Local trust policies, a team briefing was held before the day’s list started. The checklist is part of a second Global Patient Safety Challenge initiative entitled ‘Safe Surgery Saves Lives’, aimed at reducing the number of surgical deaths worldwide and was launched in June 2008. This not

Given the complexity of healthcare system today, effective and efficient collaboration and communication among team members is critical to ensure patient safety. Daniel & Rosentein (2008) reported that during a typical patient’s hospital stay, a patient may interact with 50 different employees that may include doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, etc. They also reported that when healthcare professional are not communicating and collaborating effectively, patient safety is at risk for several reasons: break in communication flow, misinterpretation of information, incorrect telephone orders and overlooked orders.

Also, by properly conducting a time-out session where the patient is provided with a standardized briefing prior to the patient is sedated in the OR could also eliminate some the sentinel or adverse events in the OR. Furthermore, follow a checklist, which not only pertains to the surgery itself, but also focuses on the other procedures involved such as admissions, anesthesia equipment, and discharge (Mulloy & Hughes 2008).

The Safe Surgery Save Lives initiative undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 focused on implementation of a surgical checklist. The safety checklist requires the surgical site be checked during the check in process as well as during the surgical time out.

Conversely, the How to Guide: Five Steps to Safer Surgery is an adjunct to the World Health Organization (WHO), Safe Surgery Saves Lives: The Second Global Patient Safety Challenge. In this, the primary goal is to confirm that surgical teams not only communicate, but follow safety standards in order to minimize common mistakes and insure the best outcome for surgical patients. The standards included in this literature emphasize, “improving anesthetic safety practices, ensuring surgery is undertaken on the correct part of the body, preventing surgical site infections, and improving communication and teamwork” (Beaumont & Russell, 2012). The actual checklist consists of the following 5-step process:

During my observation, I followed the patient from her preparation of surgery, into the operating room, to recovery. I gain insight on what happens during surgeries from nurses, surgeons, and other hospital staff. This experience was much different than any other clinical I have gone to. After having first-hand experience, I now know that surgery is nothing like what is portrayed on television.

Lastly, in the surgery theatre, misidentification may happen due to the same factors formerly mention plus failure to mark site/side of surgery, failure to properly perform time-out, and multiple surgical teams (Chan et al., 2010). To analyze the risk for these errors, few factors will be analyzed including human factors (staffing, scheduling, supervision, and qualification), equipment and technology (scanners, computers, and software), Communication (between staff and patients, between staff, between staff and physician, between physician and patient, and between units), environmental factors (physical, safety, security, and preparedness), and procedures and policies (planning, staff education, patient education, protocols, patient identification, and patient observation) (Chan et al., 2010).

As a volunteer in the emergency room, I was exposed to various medical procedures performed by the technicians, nurses, physician assistants and physicians. I was surprised to see how a place that seems to be constantly chaotic can still give every patient the care they need. It was not until I spent more time volunteering in the emergency room did I realize that although it seemed to be chaotic, the healthcare providers had a well established routine along with teamwork. I was shocked when I saw a physician assistant delivering lunch to a patient, as this is usually done by the nurses or technicians. It was through this that I understood how teamwork is essential to providing excellent care. The health care professionals in this emergency room never pulled rank or established clear cut responsibilities, everyone just did what they could and this was how simple their routine was. They didn’t let their pride prevent them from what needed to be done, after all every healthcare worker only has one responsibility; and that is to care for the patient to their fullest

The Joint Commissions created a universal protocol which became effective July 1, 2004, it included three principal components “a preoperative verification process, marking of the operative site and a “time-out” (Cobb, 2012). The objective goal was to reduce the occurrence of medical error. The Joint Commissions also created a “Sentinel Event Program” to improve the quality of which health care is rendered. Although, such events are still not mandated, reporting are all voluntary. According to the data obtained by Joint Commissions, the total incidents of sentinel events have increased since 1998 (See Appendix A). Settings where sentinel events occurred most were in a hospital setting, with a total of 5199 (66%) incidents from 2004 to 2013. Data of outcomes from sentinel events are categorized into three sub-categories; Patient death, Loss of Function and Other (i.e. - unexpected additional care/Extended Care, and Psychological

Interprofessional collaboration plays a major role in the health care system, especially when the patient’s recovery requires the attention of a variety of health professionals. The ability for professionals of different medical disciplines to work together is essential for the patient to receive the highest quality of care. S. Nelson, the patient involved in Case Study C, is the victim of a terrible car accident that leads to her being transported by helicopter to the nearest trauma center for immediate surgery. At the hospital, she is treated for multiple fractures, primarily on the left side of her body, and severe head trauma. As S. Nelson’s condition becomes stable, doctors of different health professions meet and discuss the plan of care that S. Nelson will need on her road to recovery. My job within S. Nelson’s health care team is the physical therapist, where I am responsible to work to help her regain strength – specifically in her left femur, left ulna, and several bones in her left hand.

Furthermore, being able to working in a team is also essential for a physician. Coordinating thoughts and actions with colleagues will create opportunities for collective thinking, pooled efforts, and constructive criticism to more efficiently provide care. This can be reflected through my role as president of the Muslim Students Association where I oversee an eleven-member executive board coordinating their actions to put on many events throughout the year.

At least half a million deaths per year could be prevented with effective implementation of systemic improvements in operating rooms. Specifically, multiple studies have found implementing the use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist would significantly reduce surgical morbidity and mortality due to surgical errors.

All the pre-operative checks I did are important for patient safety and are derived from the World Health Organisation (WHO) surgical safety checklist (2008).The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist was developed after extensive consultation aiming to decrease errors and adverse events, and increase teamwork and communication in surgery (WHO, 2014). The ward staff had already put on the anti –embolism stockings on the patient.

Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is a nonprofit organization that represents more than 160,000 perioperative nurses by providing nursing education, standards, and clinical practice resources-including the peer-reviewed, monthly publication-AORN Journal-to enable optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures (ARON, 2015). The AORN organization focuses on best practice standards for quality patient care in the operating room. The OR setting is a fast pace environment that requires nurses to keep up on the latest technology, medicine, and positioning devices for the surgical patient. Nurses are advocates for patients during their surgical procedure to ensure safe and quality care. Our mission is to promote safety and optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures by providing practice support and professional development opportunities to perioperative nurses (AORN, 2015).

This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome.