QUESTIONS WHICH NEED TO BE ANSWERED BY PATIENTS BEFORE GOING INTO THE OPERATING ROOM:

One of the most important aspects in the safety in surgery is for the medical staff to have all relevant information about you & your health record. While forms are often used to collect your information, a registered nurse from the operating room called an OR RN CIRCULATOR should be asking a few questions that I've listed below.

IF she or he does not, or if no one else does, PLEASE VOLUNTEER the QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS! This simple act might save your life or the life of your loved one. It seems like the questions and answer would take up too much time, but once a health care professional gains experience, the questions / answer period does not take long at all. An OR RN CIRCULATOR needs to confirm a great deal of info on the chart. This includes: Is there is recent H&P (history and physical)? Is the "informed consent" signed? Is blood ordered? If so, is the blood JUST TYPED & SCREENED? Is the blood cross matched? If one is "having" major surgery, one better have a "blood band," one that is also in date!

The OR RN CIRCULATOR needs to check the surgeon's generic surgical orders. The OR RN CIRCULATOR needs to check orders for medications. IF someone comes in and leaves your side quickly, you don't want them on YOUR case! (There are also some extra "considerations" to be noted by a RN.) Medical mistakes often arise from simple errors related to identification. MAKE SURE OF SEVERAL IDENTIFICATIONS ISSUES:

• YOUR NAME YOUR MIDDLE NAME OR INITIAL
• YOUR DOB (DATE OF BIRTH)
• YOUR MEDICAL NUMBER SHOULD ALSO BE VERIFIED OUT LOUD

Most health care professionals use only TWO (2) identifiers i.e. name and DOB that is insane! I know about one instance where someone had the same name and the same DOB as some one else! Well, he received another's man's drugs and although he was in his 30's, the man died! One death is one too many. So I am sharing with you, dear patients, my personal set of "questions" for my patients.

Click on The "Critical Questions" Box to Download my Free Form. Print out these seven pages and bring it with you to the hospital, or give it to your friends or loved ones heading for the OR..