Before a patient arrives, one of the factors of a successful and secure operation is to have the requisite materials and equipment in the working room for a surgeon and his or her team. Getting the correct instruments in hands of a proper surgeon often requires an excellent coordination of personnel, procedures, and knowledge. Preference sheets or cards are significant in determining the success of an operation. They provide the list of equipment and supplies needed by each physician to conduct a procedure. As an essential protocol, the sheets present numerous advantages to both the physician and the operating room technologist.
The procedure sheets are critical in assisting in the improvement in the welfare of patients. Champion (2016) states that they ensure that proper materials are available at the appropriate time; hence, the operation team can concentrate on the sick instead of searching for the missing equipment. It makes the doctor’s work more comfortable by providing clear directives to the other members. The clinicians can, therefore, use the sheet in identifying the physician’s specific preferences, such as where particular equipment should be placed before or during the operation. Consequently, the time that could have been consumed in the processes ends up being spent on the patient, thereby enhancing accuracy.
In addition, the sheets can help in saving time and expenses. Before conducting any surgical operation, a specialist and his or her team must first prepare the room where the process will happen. As such, they assess the required equipment for use, thus, guarantying timed operations and accurate records. Therefore, the precision can only occur in cases where the process sheet is available and followed effectively. Champion (2016) notes that high precision will also be involved in billing once there is accurate documentation during the task. The sheets can, thus, save time by reducing inappropriate processing of tools by the department of sterile production.
Considering the above, surgical technologists are the most critical personnel who ensure that the sheets are updated. They establish a timeline for all the steps and supplies each surgeon will need during their work. Champion (2016) states that, in some cases, the surgical team uses the sheets to prepare the tools for operation only for the surgeon to complain that some equipment is missing. It, in turn, leaves the physician to be blamed for the mess. However, to solve the issue, a technologist can remove extra equipment which may not be necessary from the sheet and add whatever the surgeon may request. Therefore, the team can decide to meet to produce a general list of objects to be kept, discarded, or changed, and suggest necessary adjustments in collaboration with the technologist.
Surgical technologists are also crucial in ensuring that all the relevant departments can access the sheets’ information. They aid in circulation of the information in the sheets with the help of relevant physicians (Champion, 2016). It is achieved by conducting a discourse with therapists, surgeons, and managers to identify the problems and potential areas for enhancing the sheets. Such dialogues help the operating rooms and hospitals eliminate the waste of material and encourage faster reaction time to operational processes. Thus, the discourses are vital in reducing the production of unused items in the sheet to avoid extra costs by the hospital.
In conclusion, suppliers of surgical equipment must collaborate frequently with the technologist and operating room clinical personnel. Teamwork is essential because it saves a lot of time, which could have been spent on creating new orders. The use of surgical technologists enables surgeons to focus on patient welfare rather than the process itself because of the existence of an updated preference sheet. Finally, they are critical in ensuring that hospitals do not incur extra costs because of ordering irrelevant and outdated surgical tools.
Reference
Champion, S. (2016). Make physician preference cards more efficient. OR Manager. Web.