National Time Out Day, two weeks late

I know, I know National Time Out Day was two weeks ago and I missed it!

I had a note to write about it on the day of National Time Out Day but that post-it got shuffled to the bottom of the stack. Oops.

The Time Out is very important to the operating room. This is a patient safety mechanism that causes for a pause to reflect on who the patient is, what surgery the patient is going to have, any allergies or concerns for the patient in the OR, who the major players in the room and their roles, and whether or not the need equipment/supplies/instruments/implants are in the room if not readily available.

Got all that?

When I was a brand new OR nurse my boss wanted me to act like a cheerleader and use the time out motion to get people to pay attention to me.

Um, no.

Instead, I use my words.

The scrub tech is also vital to this as they can refuse to give the surgeon the sharp incision implement, better known as a knife blade. Not the traditional knife, we have our own reusable knife handles with disposable blades. This is so the surgeon can always have a sharp blade. And then there is the waste from throwing out perfectly good scalpels if blades came attached. And the knife handle that is most commonly used (the 3) can accept and be used with the more common OR knife blades. If the pause/time out has not been done, the scrub tech can refuse to hand over the sharp thing that begins the surgery.

But, I digress.

Part of the time out is confirming that the initial count has been done. And knife blades are part of a count.

No, I will not be doing a cartoonish motion with my hands to signify the time out. Complete with knee bend. No thank you.

Yes, I will have the consent open to do the time out so that the signatures can be verified.

Thereby keeping the patient as safe as possible.

Full circle.

Again, if you are being intimidated into doing something that is unsafe, let me speak up for you.