Nursing

CE spotlight: Overcome challenges to reduce surgical site infections

Nurse Leader Weekly, March 2, 2009

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The OR can be a world unto itself. It's physically separated from the rest of the hospital, entry is restricted to authorized and properly attired personnel, and the OR often has a unique culture, says Linda Greene, RN, MPS, CIC, director of infection prevention at Rochester (NY) General Health System. As a result, the OR can be an intimidating place for infection control professionals (ICPs)—also known as infection preventionists (IP)—to visit.

But for facilities to get a handle on surgical site infections (SSIs), ICPs must be regularly present in the OR and forge strong bonds with OR nurses.

However, several barriers may strain relations between OR staff members and ICPs, such as a lack of interaction between perioperative nurses and ICPs.

Although independence can be a strong attribute, it may also be a barrier to a good working relationship between perioperative nurses and ICPs. "Both ICPs and perioperative nurses are strong leaders in their organizations. At times, each can become so focused on problem solving that they act in silos, never crossing disciplines to learn from the other," says Libby Chinnes, RN, BSN, CIC, a consultant at IC Solutions, LLC, in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Editor's note: This excerpt was adapted from the new CE article,"Overcome challenges to reduce surgical site infections" featured in The Reading Room on HCPro's online resource center, www.StrategiesforNurseManagers.com.

Did you know members of StrategiesforNurseManagers.com can receive free CE credits for this article and many other articles (marked with an asterisk) with membership? Just login or subscribe today.



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