This summer DinamicOR has committed to dissecting the parallels between Formula 1 pit stops and streamlined practices in the operating room via our Innovation in Motion campaign.
We’re diving deep into the world of high-speed pit stops to draw powerful insights that can revolutionize operating room workflows. But while fast cars and quintupled g forces might grab your attention… that isn’t why we’re here…We are here to discuss some very real and very urgent challenges that OR staff are facing today.
In the demanding world of healthcare, hospitals face the ongoing challenge of efficiently onboarding and integrating new hires into their surgical teams. This staffing crisis has only been exacerbated by COVID 19. A recent article from OR Today provides numerous testimonials to confirm that pressure to onboard comes from all directions: “acuity of surgical procedures is on the rise, requiring higher nursing skills. But tightening budgets have reduced the ranks of clinical educators and it’s difficult to fully staff while also asking experienced nurses to precept and train new team members,” says Colleen Becker, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CCRN-K, director of perioperative education for the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN).
Coupled with a need for new talent is the challenge to stay abreast through the regular advancement of medical technology. “Medical device manufacturers continue to develop new devices to improve care, but they are limited for use in specific specialties. This means perioperative staff must learn the proper care, setup, use, decontamination, and sterilization for each device,” says Bill Duffy, RN, MJ, CNOR, FAAN, the former program director for the Nursing and Healthcare Administration Masters of Science in Nursing program at Loyola University of Chicago. He references his personal experience to say that,
“His perioperative team had 442 different pieces of equipment that they needed to be familiar with.”
For our friends on surgical teams, we hardly need to mention that the constant drive for productivity puts tertiary and oppressive pressure on perioperative staff that are already functioning under unprecedented levels of stress. “The finance department is always concerned with the time it takes to onboard a new nurse,” says Duffy. “They generally understand the investment, but they are acutely aware that we are paying double to have a nurse partnering with a preceptor.” As the operating room is the most expensive place in a hospital, this pressure isn’t going anywhere.
The push for efficiency in onboarding has also created negative effects on the quality of staff training. Duffy states that “this puts enormous pressure on the perioperative educator and the preceptors who must get new staff functional in a specialty in just a few weeks. But this often leads to folks teaching the ‘how to’ and not the ‘why’ behind the actions.”
The resulting snowball effect has been catastrophic for OR teams. Becker says;
“Retirements and resignations among experienced nurses and fatigue caused by the continual need to onboard new team members have created a shortage of experienced preceptors to provide clinical orientation and training in the OR.”
Jane Flowers, MAN, RN, CNOR(e), CRCST, corroborates the story: “With many senior staff leaving, precepting can be an added burden for the remaining staff. It seems that the staff are always orienting someone.”
The constraints and complexities of these challenges can be overwhelming. With a combined 50 years of medical sales experience, our team understands the difficulties healthcare professionals face and empathize with the need for a solution that can alleviate the burden. It is essential to set new hires up for success right from the beginning by providing them with the necessary tools and support to excel.
At DinamicOR, we recognize the importance of efficient onboarding and have developed a powerful solution to help hospitals navigate this challenging process. We developed the DOR Workflow Management App to act as a central database for shared information, allowing hospitals to document procedural knowledge, surgical protocols, and surgeon-specific preferences. By having access to this vital information, new hires can navigate their responsibilities with confidence, and experienced staff members can focus on providing excellent patient care without the additional burden of extensive onboarding.
Standardizing workflows is essential for ensuring everyone is on the same page. With DinamicOR’s app, hospitals can create structured training programs that ensure consistent instruction across all staff members, regardless of the teacher. By interfacing with the numbered placement icons on our durable drape, the app offers repeatable tray placements and communal knowledge of where every instrument is placed during every procedure. This promotes a culture of knowledge sharing and enables new hires to adapt quickly to their roles.
We understand that hospitals need a solution that reduces complexity and helps their teams excel. With DinamicOR’s Workflow Management App, hospitals can establish standardized workflows, facilitate efficient training, and ensure seamless integration of new staff members.
Our goal is to lessen the burden on healthcare professionals, enabling them to focus on what truly matters: delivering exceptional patient care.
In the race to prepare new hires, DinamicOR stands by your side, providing the tools and support needed for a successful onboarding experience. We are committed to empowering healthcare professionals, streamlining processes, enhancing patient outcomes and seeing you through to the other side of this pressing crisis.
Source:
Sadler, Don, “Ready, Set, Go! Facilities Race to Prep New Hires,” OR Today, MD Publishing, July 01 2023, https://ortoday.com/ready-set-go-facilities-race-to-prep-new-hires/
