Primary Service Nurse, OR Transplant Strong Memorial Hospital Fairport, New York, United States
Disclosure(s):
Alana Loria, RN, BSN, CNOR: No financial relationships to disclose
Description: Organ procurement can be an emotionally taxing and stressful procedure. It is important to have a confident and organized team to ensure the safest and smoothest procedure possible, to facilitate both the recovery of the organs from the donor and subsequent successful recipient surgery. After meeting with operating room staff, surgeons, and our local organ procurement organization, areas of potential focus for targeted education on the procedure were identified. Since this procedure can be performed at any time of day, with either surgeons within our hospital or visiting surgeons, a need for effective knowledge sharing is critical. With this goal, a comprehensive program was created to increase knowledge for both the scrub and circulating nursing roles. Educational elements of the training program included an in-service on post-mortem care, PowerPoint presentations to both orientees and seasoned staff, and a comprehensive binder guide on how to successfully be an integral part of the organ procurement team. Hospital staff were surveyed to determine what elements would be most valuable in developing the educational program and written guides, and a pre and post-PowerPoint quiz was utilized to assess learning outcomes. With the guidance program officially in use, there has been increased confidence when performing the organ procurement procedure with overwhelmingly positive feedback from nursing staff.
