September is beautiful in the upper Midwest and a time to maximize your outdoor activities. The temperature is still warm, but the humidity is back to normal, contrasting with the hot, muggy days of July and August.
Over Labor Day weekend, I decided to ride my motorcycle to visit family in Northeast Iowa. I persuaded my brother to continue riding with me on the back roads and the two lane highways, bucolic farmland, and rolling hills were wonderful scenery.
At our first stop, I was dismayed to find my pack's flap was open and half of my belongings were gone. Among the missing were a new jacket just purchased earlier in the day, my billfold, and a half-eaten bag of caramel corn. The billfold, of course, concerned me the most, and I had visions of strangers making extravagant purchases using my credit cards, checks, and cash. After a few minutes, I had pretty well-resigned myself to a hard lesson learned. Later, we found the billfold, and I thought, "it could be worse." It was only Sunday.
What could possibly happen next?
Monday, after a day of riding, I noted the yellow light flashing on the display panel, indicating I had 1 gallon of gas left. I was only 2 miles from the convenience store on the edge of town and thought I could make it. I was wrong. I ran out of gas about a block from the convenience store.
The next problem I encountered was that the container I used to take gas back to the bike sprung a leak. Of course the holiday weekend ensured the store was full of onlookers. After calling my sister-in-law for help, I made it back home without further incident, but the memories of this debacle-filled weekend will linger for some time to come.
Navigating OR mishaps
So, what are the lessons learned and how can I apply them to OR nursing? We all have days when there seems to be more obstacles than solutions. As OR nurses, we need to apply critical thinking skills and creativity to resolve difficult situations.
The 5-step nursing process of assessment, diag-nosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation helps us navigate any circumstance. Evaluating the effectiveness of the planning and implementation strategies is an ongoing process in the OR.
The OR arena depends on routine to help minimize mishaps. However, if not checked and interventions are not critically evaluated, this routine can cause us to perform our jobs mechanically and apply nursing measures without thoroughly analyzing the situation.
Continuous evaluation leads to processing information input, adjusting and implementing changes to individualize care, and maximizing good patient outcomes. After critically evaluating the events of the weekend, I can see clearly where I fell short in my planning and interventions. Taking a few minutes before leaving to "pause" and determine all equipment was in place and working would have gone a long way in preventing much of what happened. Warning signs and alarms shouldn't have been ignored. These are tools we use every day in the OR. If I had used these tools during my weekend, the outcome could have been much different!!
Despite these skills, we will still have days when things don't go as planned, and a sense of humor can go a long way in making your day more enjoyable.
As a side note: If you happen to be in Northeast Iowa and you find a black jacket with the tags still on it or a half-eaten bag of caramel corn, let me know, will you?
Elizabeth M. Thompson, RN, CNOR, MSN
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing Education Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. http://ORNurse_wolterskluwer.com