A Simple Innovation to Increase Safety
Written by Jodi Grahl
An Operating Room must run like a well-oiled machine, with multiple, perfectly-coordinated moving parts. However, the key elements of an O.R. are not engineered cogs, but people: surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, circulators, technicians and others. Many people with varying expertise all work as one team.
This poses one of the greatest challenges for international surgical missions. How do we make sure everyone in the O.R.—which on a mission trip may include people speaking multiple languages and working in new settings with unfamiliar equipment—is working in sync?
Solidarity Bridge incorporates and promotes a simple tool specifically designed to improve communication and teamwork in the O.R. The Surgical Safety Checklist, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), defines critical time-out moments in which every person in the O.R. pauses to confirm a common understanding of the surgical plan, and that critical safety steps have been completed. The checklist also aims to empower everyone present to speak up in case of a concern. This is a critical element, especially when individuals may be working together for the first time, such as during a mission surgery. The use of this protocol within our programs began in 2018, and our Bolivian counterparts at various hospitals enthusiastically welcomed the tool.
Research has shown that rigorous implementation of the surgical safety checklist reduces patient death and complication rates by as much as one third. The essential checklist is distributed free of cost in multiple languages by the WHO (our mission teams carry the English and Spanish versions). Each hospital is also encouraged to adapt the checklist to their own surgical practices.
Our mission trips are typically focused on training in complex surgical techniques, and our first priority during every surgery is the safety of the patient. The surgical safety checklist is an example of how a simple innovation can have a profound impact to increase access to safe surgery for patients around the world.
Jodi Grahl is our Director of General Surgery, Gynecologic Surgery and Pacemaker Programs. She has been on staff at Solidarity Bridge for more than seven years and has traveled with more than 25 mission teams.