AST Guideline - Best Practices in Alarm Management in the Operating Room

6 4) As of January 1, 2016, HDOs should be educating staff and licensed independent practitioners about the purpose and proper operation of alarm systems for which they are responsible. 4. The process should include review of reports published by healthcare agencies and HDOs to identify trends and safety practices that can be used as opportunities for improving the P&Ps. 1 5. The P&Ps should establish protocols for when monitoring is suspended or on standby such as when transporting a patient from preoperative holding to the OR and vice-versa, and when electrodes are being manipulated such as after a patient has been positioned on the OR table. 22 6. It is recommended the P&Ps include a process for completing a checklist when a new piece of equipment is set up to confirm that the alarm(s) are functioning, and the parameters are properly chosen and set. 23 7. A recommendation for strengthening the P&Ps is to assign a stakeholder to monitoring one or more P&Ps for compliance, such as a CST, RN or healthcare technology management technician. 2 Guideline V CSTs should complete continuing education to remain current in their knowledge of alarm management. 5 1. Education of all surgical department staff is critical to establishing and maintaining a culture of patient safety. 5,22, 24 The P&Ps of the HDO should be used as a basis for designing the education and training. 2 2. The continuing education should be based upon the concepts of adult learning referred to as andragogy. Adults learn best when the information is relevant to their work experience; the information is practical, rather than academic; and the learner is actively involved in the learning process. 27 3. It is recommended surgery departments use various methods of instruction to facilitate the learning process of CSTs. A. If the education is primarily lecture, methods to engage learners include presentation of case studies for discussion, and audience discussion providing suggestions for reinforcing alarm management. B. Other proven educational methods include interactive training videos, and computerized training modules and teleconferences. C. The continuing education should be delivered over short periods of time such as in modules, and not in a one-time lengthy educational session. 4. Continuing education programs should be periodically evaluated for effectiveness including receiving feedback from surgery department personnel. 5. The surgery department should maintain education records for a minimum of three years that include dates of education; names and job titles of employees that completed the continuing education; synopsis of each continuing education session provided; names, credentials, and experience of instructors.