AST Guidelines for Best Practices for Safe Use of Pneumatic Tourniquets

26 of units affected by a manufacturer’s recall or other notification that require action by the HDO. 6 C. If a pneumatic tourniquet malfunctions and is determined to be the root cause of a patient injury or contributing factor to a patient death, the HDO is required to report the incident and related information to the manufacturer of the tourniquet system and to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which is required according to the Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990. 99 2. CSTs should be familiar with the P&Ps for safe use of pneumatic tourniquets. The orientation of new employees should include reviewing the P&Ps. Standard of Practice VIII CSTs should complete continuing education to remain current in their knowledge of the safe use of tourniquets. 100 1. 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; information is practical, rather than academic; and the learner is actively involved in the learning process. 101 2. 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 safe use of tourniquets. 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. 3. Continuing education programs should be periodically evaluated for effectiveness including receiving feedback from surgery department personnel. 4. 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. A. Unique to the continuing education regarding tourniquets the CST should completing training on application of the cuff, operating the tourniquet system and monitoring the pressure, troubleshooting the tourniquet system, and completing the patient documentation.