Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) has developed a surgical checklist to help reduce the number of wrong-site surgeries and other preventable mistakes that occur in US operating rooms.
The new AORN Comprehensive Surgical Checklist includes the safety checks outlined in the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist, and also meets the safety checks included in The Joint Commission Universal Protocol that meet the accreditation requirements.
Reportedly, the AORN checklist uses color keys to represent the respective practices and recommendations of the WHO, The Joint Commission, and areas where they overlap. In addition, it provides guidance for pre-procedure check-in, sign-in, time out and sign out. It also includes opportunities for open discussion to encourage checklist engagement among all members of the surgical team.
The AORN Comprehensive Surgical Checklist can be downloaded in PDF as well as in a Word document so it can be tailored to a facility’s procedural needs. The Comprehensive Surgical Checklist is valuable to any hospital OR setting, ambulatory surgery centers, and physician practices where any invasive procedures may take place.
Linda Groah, executive director/CEO of AORN, said: “Our members were concerned by the need to reference multiple checklists when they were in the middle of a procedure. A single checklist that incorporates all the key steps simplifies the process and should reduce the risk of surgical errors.”