With changing regulations for state and federal governments, including the publishing of data related to surgical site infections and infection rates per surgical procedure, it is increasingly important perioperative personnel and infection preventionists work in tandem to keep patients safe, according to an AORN Journal guest editorial.
"Because perioperative nurses assist in the overall monitoring of the surgical setting and continue to be the patient's first line of defense in the prevention of SSIs, it is imperative that perioperative nurses and IPs work together," Denise Korniewicz, PhD, professor and research dean at the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, wrote.
According to Dr. Korniewicz, IPs should round in the OR, attend surgical department meetings and conduct morbidity and mortality reviews to become more engaged and enhance patient outcomes and accountability.
Further, instead of having an OR manager disseminate data on infection rates, Dr. Korniewicz suggests having the IP do so during rounds. IPs could "use infection control rounds by using actual cases of infections that occurred in the OR and comparing the outcomes with other national data to benchmark how well their OR is performing." Then, the entire team can suggest solutions during the meeting.
Regardless of how organizations engage IPs in the OR, it is important that they do so. "The IP role is becoming a more collaborative role, and perioperative nurses should work directly with them to track and prevent infections in the surgical environment," Dr. Korniewicz concludes.
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