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Safeguarding Surgical Technologists And Reducing Costs Related To Upper Extremity Strain Injuries In The Or, Wilhelmina Hofilena

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Problem: In the operating room (OR), complex procedures and processes are performed under time pressures, which presents unique challenges regarding ergonomic-related injuries. Handling surgical instrumentation trays with awkward postures is one of the high-risk tasks performed in the OR that can result in upper extremity (UE) strain. A healthcare system-based hospital in Northern California had five reported upper extremity strain injuries by the surgical technologists (STs) in workplace safety (WPS) performance year (PY) 2018-2019. The project aims to decrease UE strain injuries among STs by improving the quality of surgical instrumentation trays and promoting the culture of safety through …

An Informatics Solution For Operating Room Efficiency, Richard A. Barrow

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: For most hospitals, a major cost is the operating room. Inefficiency increases costs and risks for adverse events. An efficient operating room can also be a major revenue generator.

Context: This evidence-based performance improvement project was conducted in a small rural Veteran’s Hospital, which belongs to an integrated health network in Central California. The facility has four operating rooms and is expanding services provided to their patients.

Intervention: The intervention was the use of analytics and evaluations to improve the operating room efficiency by five percent. The use of 3 separate queries which were combined to generate reports and …