It was a pleasure to serve as an e-Chapter delegate and see many of my old friends again this year at our annual e-Chapter meeting! I arrived on Friday night to attend the BIC Intensive on Saturday. We had a lively day with speakers and attendees sharing information! I always enjoy learning from my colleagues and come away from AORN Congress with renewed energy and purpose, but this meeting was also special because it was in Denver, offering the opportunity to tour our headquarters!
- The World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Surgery Checklist was the topic of several presentations this year. Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, surgeon, author and leader of the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives program spoke at the general member session, “Safer Surgery: Reducing Complications and Disparities.” Dr. Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, explained that 50 million surgeries are performed per year with a 3% complication rate, which translates to 150,000 deaths resulting from major complications from surgery in the United States alone in spite of advanced training and innovative technologies that have been implemented. While the United States may be a bit ahead in this effort, given the work of the Joint Commission and IHI’s Saving Lives Campaign, it is estimated that 7 million people worldwide die unnecessarily, and the WHO checklist is a worldwide effort to develop a more structured surgical process and reduce error. 24 countries have signed on so far, and Dr. Gawande stressed, “…if we make the nurses the police, we fail. If it is about teams, we succeed.”
- One question for managers of Operation Rooms: Are you using the WHO Safe Surgery Checklist or one that has been endorsed by AORN?
- It seemed that this year’s vendor floor was less about brand new technology and more about measurement and tracking. Numerous IT solutions were available for collecting existing data, tracking performance and providing real-time data to OR staff.
- I also enjoyed the opportunity to choose selections from each of the educational tracks. I was able to receive updates from Ambulatory, Clinical, Infection Control/ Prevention and Leadership educators.
Gloria
|