The OR has a new nurse.
This is exciting news.
They are nearly done with orientation, which means they need to be trained on call.
This is crucial information for a new to our OR nurse.
They will need to be able to work independently.
I train all the new nurses.
What to do when they get the call.
What to do when they get to the hospital.
How to put the case in if the surgeon hasn’t.
Why it is important to mark cases as add on when they are.
When to use transport and when to get the patient themselves.
Hint, depends if there is a hospital bed involved or a gurney.
How to call a needed rep for the case.
How to pick the case.
How to pick the instruments.
How to prep the patient.
How to trust the scrub tech to open the room.
How to balance setting the room up and prepping the patient.
The ins and outs of obtaining consent.
How to call in the PACU nurses.
WHEN to call in the PACU nurses.
What to do if the case finishes too early and you are with the CRNA before the PACU nurses arrive.
To that end, I created a binder.
I used to call it the Now What book.
It details processes that nurses need to do while charting or on call.
And how to do them.
I have rebranded the Now What book.
It is now titled the Call Preserver.
Kind of like a life preserver, for call.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 