Patient Safety

Patient safety in the OR is the upmost priority for the perioperative nurses and medical team. Surgical procedures come with great risks and it is the nurse’s responsibility to protect the patient as much as possible. A vital way in which nurses can protect their patient’s while in the OR is through safe positioning. Correctly positioning a patient can eliminate preventable complications, like infections or pressure sores, and ultimately allow the healthcare team to provide safer care. The nurse has an integral part in correctly positing the patient for surgery. An article by Mannava et al. (2016) explains how to position a patient for a Shoulder Arthroscopy in the beach chair position and the benefits of this position. The article explains

The use of knowledge to promoting safety is described by QSEN as being able to “delineate general categories of errors and hazards in care” (Batalden et al, 2017). Through my experience in the OR, I now know the importance of understanding how correct patient positioning can prevent a hazard in care. I understand how skin and tissues can breakdown over bony prominences if not properly padded before/during a surgery. Growth has also occurred in the QSEN safety competency by observing the skills used to “demonstrate effective use of strategies to reduce risk of harm to self or others” (Batalden et al, 2017). By padding the patient’s heels and ensuring there was adequate padding between the patient and the “seatbelt” the nurse was using her skills to reduce the patient’s harm from undue injury and preventing skin breakdown. Since it is the nurse’s role to advocate for the patient, she must have the skills needed to reduce the patient’s risk for harm. Lastly, growth has occurred in the QSEN safety competency of attitude by learning to value my own role in preventing errors (Batalden et al, 2017). Through learning how the nurse promotes the patient’s safety through correct positioning, eliminating the risk for an infection, participating in the procedural pause, etc., I will now be more prepared to care for my own patients. I understand that it is the nurse’s responsibility to advocate for the patient and prevent any undue injury. By doing so, the patient will have a decreased risk for injury and better quality of care while in the