The surgical count plays a vital role in enabling the perioperative practitioner to enhance the surgical patient’s safety. Surgical items such as instruments, swabs and sharps used by the surgical team to perform invasive procedures, are foreign bodies to the patient and must be accounted for at all times to prevent retention and injury to the patient. Many would argue that surgical counting is the single most important aspect of the circulating nurses’ duties. Regardless of whether this is true or not, surgical counting is undoubtebly one of the most important tasks of the circulating nurse in the operating room. In this course, we will discuss counting procedures, items responsible for being counted, methods of accounting for sponges, personnel responsible for performing the counts, recommended time for each count, provide current policy and procedures for counting, discuss recommended strategies for incorrect count, and many other topics. This course will illustrate just how important the surgical count is to a safe operating room experience and how vital the circulating nurse is to providing a safe surgical experience.
Why do we do surgical counts?
By working together, we can ensure the accuracy of our counts every time we perform an operation or invasive procedure. An accurate count can help us reduce the risk of having a retained item. And surgical counts exist to protect our patient from the complications that would arise if something were left inside them.
What is the surgical count policy?
SURGICAL COUNT POLICY POLICY To ensure patient safety and accountability for all items used during a surgical procedure a surgical count is required. The following surgical count guidelines are based on the standards from theOperating Room Nurses Association of Canada (ORNAC).
What is the surgical count in nursing?
Additionally, although not formally recognised in the literature, the surgical count is a method by which student nurses learn the names of instruments. Professional operating room nursing associations provide guidelines and recommendations on how the count should be conducted.
How many count sheets should be used for a surgical count?
Two or more surgical teams are involved and two or more instrument nurses multiple individual count sheets shall be used. However:If the proximity of the surgical sites makes it difficult to ensure separation of the two team’s instrumentation and surgical supplies then one count sheet may be used and one instrument nurse shall perform the count.
Why are surgical instruments counted?
Instruments should be counted on all procedures that present with the possibility that a foreign object could be retained in order to support patient safety practices in the perioperative setting.
Why are instruments counted before and after surgery?
Counts are performed for patient and personnel safety, infection control, and inventory purposes. A needle, instrument, sponge, tape, or towel left in the wound after closure is a possible cause for a lawsuit after a surgical procedure. Containment and control are also important for infection control.
What is a sponge count?
An RN must witness the count. A sponge count is necessary for surgical procedures when the depth or the location of the wound may allow a sponge to be left undetected in the wound.
What is swab count policy?
Introduction and General Principles. The overriding principle for the count is that all swabs, instruments and needles MUST be accounted for at ALL times during an invasive surgical procedure or vaginal birth to prevent foreign body retention and subsequent injury to the patient.
Why are surgical counts important?
The biggest reason surgical counts are so important is because we don’t want to accidentally leave something inside of our patients! This seems simple enough, right? But when you do the same thing, day after day, it’s easy to forget why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Why is it important to have accurate counts?
An accurate count can help us reduce the risk of having a retained item. And surgical counts exist to protect our patient from the complications that would arise if something were left inside them. They also exist to help protect us from the far-reaching consequences of a retained surgical item.
Why is it important to keep a sterile field organized?
Keeping the sterile field well organized makes it easier to find items. Always know the location of soft goods and instruments within the sterile field. Alert the circulator any time an item is placed inside the patient (packing in the throat, lap inside a wound, etc) so it can be documented.
What is each healthcare organization responsible for?
Each healthcare organization is responsible for providing a standardized and reliable method that keeps track of all surgical items used during a procedure. Your organization’s policies and procedures will dictate how surgical counts should be performed at your facility.
What is surgical count?
The “surgical count” is the responsibility of the scrub and circulating nurses. If there is no scrub nurse, the circulating nurse and the surgeon or another perioperative nurse/technician conducts the “count”.
When counts, particularly instrument counts, cannot be done with complete accuracy and confidence?
When counts, particularly instrument counts, cannot be done with complete accuracy and confidence due to large amount of complex instrumentation, speed of closure or the emergency nature of the surgery:
