Cascade Valley Hospital Post-Op Report

Cascade Valley Hospital’s OR area consists of 3 operating rooms, a pre-op and recovery area nearby. This is in contrast to the much larger operation I previously experienced at Providence Hospital.

Pre-operatively patients were brought into the only pre-op room where forms and consent were looked over, allergies verified, proper surgical site confirmed by staff and patient, last minute medication given (antibiotic) and last minute concerns answered. Intra-operatively, the surgeries or procedures were relatively short. The longest surgery, a right shoulder arthroplasty, lasted approximately 2 ½ hours. Along with surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses and surgery technician a representative for the shoulder hardware was there observing the procedure.

Prior to bringing the patients to recovery, the anesthesiologist spent time trying to awaken the patients. I don’t remember this from my prior experience. Post-op report was given either in the OR room and again in the recovery room. It appeared the same nurses that observed the patients in recovery also came into the OR room to transport them there also. I followed the nurse to the recovery room where another report took place with a couple more nurses as the patient got situated. Patient safety was in play during throughout all interactions pre, intra and post-operatively. Some of the same questions were asked repeatedly for verification (allergies, name, birth, why and where was the surgery being done). Beforehand, staff verbally verified and clarified with each other regarding the procedure then during - verification of medication, expiration dates, instrument counts and supply count was comforting to observe. The constant checks and balances that the staff underwent to ensure patient safety was great to see, especially when I think that one day that could be me or a loved one laying on the table, it is good to know that these practices are in place, to lessen the risk of errors and

Maybe 15 minutes pre-operatively, a little in the OR and once again briefly at post –op. As an observer and not being the patient laying on the table waiting to undergo a procedure, I still felt very anxious. Honestly, I was very glad that it wasn’t me laying there and can only imagine what is going through the patients mind. As a nurse, to be reminded of this as a patient comes to me post-operatively that they just came from a very stressful and anxious filled experience, would hopefully prompt me to be more understanding and compassionate in my care because of what they just went through and will be going through to