Ensuring correct site surgery

AORN is committed to promoting the identification of the correct surgical site. Using the suggested risk-prevention strategies when developing policies and procedures will reduce the risk of error. AORN's position statement on correct site surgery is available on AORN Online (i.e., http://www.aorn.org/about/positions/correct site.htm). Other resources can be found on the Patient Safety First web site (i.e., http://www.patient safetyfirst.org). As patient advocates, perioperative RNs should communicate with all members of the surgical team to verify the correct surgical site. Individual facility policy should clearly delineate the role and responsibility of the physician and other team members in marking and verifying the patient's-identity and the correct surgical site, procedure, and laterality. Perioperative nurses also should think about the last time an error or a near miss related to wrong site surgery occurred. Compare your facility's current policy and procedure to JCAHO recommendations and work within your facility to develop, implement, and monitor a collaboratively developed, multidisciplinary policy and procedure. If your facility has not addressed the issue of wrong site surgery, learn more about why this problem occurs and see what you can do to make correct site surgery an expectation--100% of the time.