Manager Operating Room, Sterile Processing, & Anesthesia Support Northeast Georgia Medical Center- Braselton Loganville, Georgia, United States
Disclosure(s):
Hannah A. Reynolds, MHA, BSN, RN,: No financial relationships to disclose
Description: Description of team: Multidisciplinary surgical services team to include leadership, educators, finance, recruiting, front line staff.
Preparation and planning: 1. Using Employee engagement data and staff interviews, primary reason for staff turnover discovered. Need for implementation of night shift identified. 2. Data review of afterhours and weekend volume in Braselton OR (3-month view) 3. Using timecard data, calculated total after hours worked by OR staff (3-month view) 4. Using income statement, calculated cost of call (3-month view) 5. Using income statement, calculated cost of agency (3-month view) 6. Using national benchmark data, calculated cost of RN turnover 7. Sought Senior Leadership, finance, and Human Resources support.
Assessment In June of 2024, Braselton OR had a 37% vacancy rate among Registered Nurses and Surgical Technologist and an overall turnover rate of 59.8% with the leading cause of separation relating to the call requirement. Braselton OR was experiencing an increased trend in after hours and weekend volume. Due to the increase, staff were working their full FTE (1.0) and required to take multiple call shifts per week and on weekends. A proposal was written to add fourteen additional FTEs to support 7 day per week, 24-hour coverage in the operating room, post anesthesia recovery unit, and sterile processing departments.
Implementation After securing leadership support and with the aid of Human Resources and Recruiting, all positions were posted. The staff were systematically introduced to the proposal in all affected perioperative departments. Staff were given the opportunity to voice questions and discuss any concerns about the proposed changes. Night shift positions were offered to existing staff first, then opened for other internal or external candidates. Once staff were hired, the educators developed a unique and individualized orientation plan for each staff hired to night shift. Since implementation of the night shift affected the current on call standard of work, leaders from our central transfer center were informed of the changes. The Operating Room Manager and Assistant Nurse Manager worked with night shift staff to develop shift patterns and scheduling guidelines. Once go-live date was established, communication was distributed to the Perioperative Operations Committee, Senior System Leadership, and Surgeons at the Braselton Campus.
Outcome The outcome of this implementation is overall turnover rates have decreased from 59.8%, June 2024 to 20.8%, June 2025. Braselton OR vacancy rate has decreased from 37%, June 2024 to 3.6% June 2025. Overall employee satisfaction has improved and employee engagement scores for 2025 are anticipated to show marked improvement.
