Be passionate about prevention
It can be challenging to implement pressure injury prevention in an OR setting. Being passionate yourself is the best starting-point. It’s important to have evidence of the problem and a good understanding of the issues specific to OR care. Keep up with evidence-based research on this topic and be prepared to engage closely with the OR team.
Get buy-in from the hospital administration
You need their support to make this work. Use your evidence to make a convincing case for taking pressure injury prevention measures in the OR and take it to:
- the director of nursing
- the director of surgery
- the OR director
When you talk to these leaders, you need to convince them that the outlay of time, equipment and preventative dressings will pay off. Make sure you are fully prepared, because in some cases you will be asking people to spend money on a problem they did not know existed.
You may also want to read our more general articles on getting buy-in from hospital executives and procurement/finance teams here.
Takeaways:
- start at the top
- be prepared with the relevant information
Watch the video on ensuring success
Make sure OR staff understand the problem
It’s vital to get everyone in the OR on board. One major barrier is that many surgeons and OR teams don’t believe pressure injuries occur in the operating room. This is largely due to the time lag – these are deep tissue injuries that may not show up until 48 hours after surgery.
Similarly, OR nurses may see no reason to change their standard procedure of using a rolled blanket or sheet to reduce pressure.
Sharing the latest research can make a difference, both in explaining how pressure injuries can and do occur in OR and in the value of preventative dressings and devices.
Takeaways:
- Get everyone involved in the process
- Use research-based articles to educate staff
Keep going
It’s easy to let a prevention programme lose momentum. Remember to keep people focused on the cost – both in human suffering and in financial/reputational damage – of inaction. Keep on track with the latest research so you know your prevention measures are the most effective available. Track the daily occurrence rate. And remember to celebrate the team’s successes!
Takeaways:
- Maintain state-of-the-art prevention
- Track occurrences daily
A note on terminology: ‘pressure ulcer’, ‘pressure injury, ‘pressure sore’ or ‘bed sore’ are all commonly used terms. We use ‘pressure injury’ throughout this article to include all the above.
