To Increase Staff Retention in the Operating Room, First Reduce the Load
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There’s nothing simple about the surgical field. People working in this specialized industry are under a constant amount of stress and strain to deliver the best and safest patient experience possible. While OR staff are generally known for their excellence in the field, it doesn’t come without a price. More and more hospital staff are leaving their positions due, in part, to burnout from excessive workloads. Here is more about this troubling issue and how you can increase staff retention in the OR by reducing the workload.

Staff retention is a serious issue in the healthcare industry

According to a recent report by U.S. News, the growing shortage of healthcare workers is being called a top patient safety issue. Now that the pandemic is well into its third year, healthcare employment has yet to recover to pre-COVID levels. And unfortunately, the need for healthcare workers remains at an all-time high.

The American Hospital Association reports that this nation’s nursing shortage could reach 1.1 million by the end of 2022. But other healthcare professionals, like lab workers and surgical techs, are also in short supply. Because of these shortages, workers are being asked to do more, which is impacting patient outcomes. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, certain types of bloodstream infections have gone up by 28%, and falls have increased by 17% in some facilities.

One USA Today survey of over 1,100 healthcare workers in early 2022 revealed that nearly a quarter of respondents were planning to leave the field. Unfortunately, the need for these services is only going to increase as this nation’s population of elderly gets larger.

How reducing the workload for surgical staff can improve retention rates

When surgical technicians and nurses have too much on their professional plates, it can cause anxiety, lead to mistakes, and impact employee retention rates. When some of this workload is reduced, it also reduces the stress rate, and your staff will be happier and more efficient. They are also less likely to quit. The DinamicOR Back Table Solution and the DinamicOR+ Workflow Management App were created with these goals in mind.

The DinamicOR Back Table Solution is an adjustable, multi-tiered OR instrument table. It comes with custom-fitted drapes and allows for multiple configurations. Some of the ways these solutions reduce your staff’s workload include:

  • Faster turnover time — Using the DinamicOR+ Workflow Management App, staff can view tray and instrument place profiles for each type of procedure, reducing OR turnover time by 33%.
  • Better instrument visibility — Because there is 92% instrument visibility with the DinamicOR Back Table Solution, surgical staff can stop “hunting” for vital instruments during procedures.
  • More efficient solution — The DinamicOR Back Table Solution is a more efficient and safer tool for your surgical staff. It can help them do their jobs with less anxiety and reduce injuries at the same time.
Learn more about the DinamicOR Back Table Solution

As you can see, DinamicOR has made maximizing the employee and patient experience a priority. In fact, our suite of solutions was designed with direct input from hospital staff and surgical teams, creating the ideal combination of safety, visibility, and configurability.

If you’d like to learn more about what the Back Table Solution can do for your surgical team, contact us today. We’d be happy to answer your question and schedule a virtual demo.