STAFFING IN OT AND MEMBERS OF SURGICAL TEAM

Staffing is a selection, training, motivating and retaining of a personnel in the organization. The norms are providing staffing requirement information in a number of ways, to facilitate various uses.

The staffing requirements in can be measured by –

• Staffing needs,
• Population ratios,
• Fixed staff requirements per level of care,
• Number of hours worked,
• Hours associated with direct patient care
• Workload calculation

The staffing requirements in OT staffing is based on the –

• Number of cases operated per day,
• Total number of hours of cases,
• Type of cases,
• Nature of cases,
• Prescribed norms, policies and procedures

BENEFITS OF GOOD STAFFING

• Improves patient outcome
• Lowers mortality rate
• Increase OT efficiency
• Reduce patient waiting time for surgery
• Balance workload

STAFFING PATTERN OF OT

 

MEMBERS OF THE OT TEAM

• The management of intra-operative nursing care is the coordinated efforts of well-organized surgical team. Whose function include safe, efficient & effective care to the surgical patient in OT.
• OT surgical team has the following personnel:
  • Medical personnel
  • Anaesthesiologist
  • Nursing personnel
  • OT technician
  • OT Attendants
  • Lab technician
  • OT Sweepers or Cleaners
• MEDICAL PERSONNEL OR SURGEON
  • A surgeon can be defined as a doctor, who operates a body either to cure or prevent a disease, fix an injury, or to solve a health problem. Thus, it is said that a surgeon is a medical practitioner, who is an expert at performing operations on the body.
  • The surgeon job description depends upon the type of the surgeon he/she is. There are different types of surgeons and their set of duties:
    • General Surgeon - A general surgeon usually operates on the abdominal parts and performs operations related to hernia and appendicitis.
    • Neurosurgeon - operates on brain and spinal cord
    • Orthopaedic surgeon - An orthopaedic surgeon is an expert at performing operations related to bones, joints, spine, etc.
    • Plastic surgeon - They perform various types of cosmetic surgeries which include, liposuction, treating skin burns, etc.
  • Each of these specialized surgeon is an expert in operating the respective parts of the body.
  • Duties of surgeon -
    • Before surgery learn the medical history of the patient, make sure if the patient has certain allergies, expected outcome after the operation.
    • Before starting with the surgery, a surgeon should make sure that the operation theatre is well equipped with surgical instruments required for the surgery.
    • The surgeon should provide all the information and risks associated with the surgery to the patient.
    • The surgeon should manage, plan and schedule the surgery, after studying the physical condition of the patient.
    • After completion of the surgery, the surgeon should prepare the case history and provide all the necessary after surgery care to the patient.
• ANAESTHESIOLOGIST
  • Anaesthesiologist is a physician trained in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine.
  • Duties of Anaesthesiologist -
    • Administer anaesthetics to prevent patients from feeling pain and sensations;
    • closely monitor patients' vital signs during surgery and adjust anaesthetics accordingly;
    • Monitor patients through the first recovery stages after an operation;
    • Anaesthesiologists may also help treat patients with conditions causing chronic pain.
    • More than ninety percent of the anaesthetics used in health care are administered by or under the direct supervision of an anaesthesiologist.
• NURSING PERSONNEL
  • Nursing personnel or nursing section in OT is headed by the Nursing Director or Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). The other members of the nursing team working under the nursing director are as the following:
    • Deputy Nursing Director or Deputy Nursing Officer (DNO)
    • Nursing supervisors
    • Scrub nurses - works directly with the surgeon within the sterile field
    • Circulatory nurses - responsible for managing the nursing care of the patient within the operating room and coordinating the needs of the surgical team with other care providers necessary for completion of surgery.
    • Nurse – in – charge store
    • Nurse – in –charge reception, admission, transfer etc.
• OT TECHNICIAN
  • O.T. Technician is a qualified person, is the member of the surgical team.
  • Operating room technicians are also called surgical technicians.
  • They assist in preparing operating rooms for surgery.  They are responsible for having surgical instruments, sterile bandages and linens, needed fluids, and other equipment ready for the operation.
  • They may also assist doctors by handing them needed instruments during surgery and for counting sponges and needles before and after the operation.  They deliver specimens to hospital laboratories for analysis, and after operations they take patients to the recovery room.
  • Duties of OT technician
    • Operation Theatre Technician has to carry out the routine work pre-operatively such as – Carbonization, Fumigation, Sterilization and Autoclaving.
    • Ultra Violet (U.V.) lighting has been used for germicidal sterilization to prevent Mould / Bacteria Growth etc.
    • So the environment is free from the disease causing microorganisms & the required instruments, linen, dressing materials etc. are free from the pathogenic microorganisms & ready for the use in operation / surgical procedure
• OT ATTENDANTS
  • Also known as OT nurse assistant or OT ward boy.
  • OT Attendants is assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions.
  • These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient like –
    • Lift patients on and off trolley to OT table with the assistance of nurses.
    • Transfer patients' files between departments, specimens to laboratories.
    • Make sure that an adequate supply of clean clothing and linen is available for the patient and that soiled items are removed and send for cleaning.
    • Assist in the maintenance of stocks of linen and non-medical supplies.
• LAB TECHNICIAN
  • Collect samples of body fluids and tissues.
  • Perform clinical tests usually of a simpler nature.
• OT CLEANERS
  • OT cleaners are the personnel who are engaged themselves in cleaning the OT pre-operative & post operatively.
  • Cleaners clean the OT with the antiseptic lotion with wearing of gloves, mask & cap.
  • They are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of OT.

*****