I do a one on one call bootcamp for the operating room. I have done this for years, far longer than I’ve been in the call position. I also did a LOT of buddy call. Habit, you know.
I got an email about AORN EXPO 2027 in Philadelphia. This was an email looking for abstracts for podium presentations due at the end of the month. The abstract for poster presentation, the one I am most familiar with, is due on July 20.
A good call bootcamp takes about an hour and a half. I gauge the new nurse’s familiarity with call.
And then we begin and it is NOT with a call to the nursing supervisor.
I start with showing them the Call Preserver binder that is behind the OR desk. This is the book that I’ve mocked up that is basically a FAQ, with explicitly explained steps. I give them a copy of the “My pager has gone off, now what?” This explains, in detail, the different steps of being called in and what can be expected of them as the call in one.
Next, I optimize everyone’s Epic program for them. Together we move things around, hide other things that they’ll never use, and find the ER dashboard. This is also where I amaze them by adding two sections to their flowsheet section they had no idea of. These are the perinatal post-mortem for miscarriages or D&Es (within the bounds by our state law), or the hysteroscopy flowsheets that does the math for you. Of the fifteen nurses I’ve done bootcamp with zero have known that the hysteroscopy flowsheet exists.
I explain useful things that are within Epic and I explain to them. Like the Bedboard, an at a glance depiction of the hospital. We discuss what the colors of the different rooms and how to differentiate the different units. I highlight that this is the best place to look for beds if the patient is going to be admitted and why it is important to know what higher level of care beds are available. This is where I indicate it is useful to call the supervisor to “reserve” a bed in ICU, or, if the ICU is full, to alert them to the need for an ICU bed.
Other than that, I try not to bother the nursing supervisor. They have an entire hospital to keep up on.
I explain how to schedule a case on the Snapboard. If the surgeon has put it in. If the surgeon has not, we talk about how to create a case and the questions to ask a surgeon about the case. By this I mean instrumentation desired for a fracture, or robot availability.
We talk about what if it is a surgeon we’ve never heard of and what to do to make sure they have privileges to do a case at the hospital. Because if they are not credentialed to work at our hospital, via temporary status or courtesy status, it is technically assault if they operated at the hospital. Pearls are usually clutched in this part of the talk. We all want to take care of patients, including the docs on call. It is a paperwork issue, mostly, but I’ve had to refuse a surgeon or two when they didn’t have any privileges or status at the hospital.
Many of the things in the Call Preserver is how to deal with unfrequently asked questions. I update the book frequently, especially if there is a change in policy around anything to do with the hospital.
As the PACU nurses won’t be called until 30 minutes before they are needed by the call nurse, I explain to them about Quick Prep and why the 8 fields that are to be filled out are better than the 30 fields that ACU does when they prep a patient.
Our consents are now electronic and have been for over a year. I show them the iPads that patients use to electronically sign the consent. This usually yields questions about what if no one is there for the patient and they can’t sign the consent. This leads to a conversation about who can sign a consent legally for you in the state.
The Epic optimization takes about 1/3 of the hour.
All along the way, I am answering questions and giving them real world examples.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 