Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 15 TSC 352 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Identifying the Patient
The idea
The right patient is confirmed repeatedly before surgery, using at least the patient's full name and date of birth.
In practice
Follow the checkpoints in order. First, the patient's identity is confirmed in the preoperative area, matched against the identification band and the record. Second, it is confirmed again when the patient arrives in the operating room, before anesthesia begins. Third, at the time out, immediately before incision, the whole team confirms the patient's identity, the procedure and the site, and the procedure is read from the consent. Fourth, at the end of the case, specimen labels are read aloud with the patient's name, so the patient's identity follows the specimen too.
Where people slip
Wrong-patient and wrong-site surgery are preventable errors, and the repeated checks exist because any single check can fail. Saying the name aloud each time is not a formality; it is the safeguard.
Your place on the trail
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