MAY 2002, VOL 75, N O 5

P R E S I D E N T I A L C 0 M M I S S I 0 N

AORN s Presidential Commission on Patient Safety

N urses and other practitioners wlio care for surgical patients have a long tradition of

borking toward patient safety and improving t~ie qiiality of patient care. As a professional nursing association, AORN has been con- sidered the group that “wrote the book on patient safety.” The Association’s publications. i tic I ud ing AORN ’s S/mtluizrlr, R~.c.oniiiwiitktl Prmtic~es, mid Gl/iddi17~, demonstrate the con- mitment of’ perioperative nurses to this tradition of safety. Many recently published studies and reports, however, cite numerous, serious adverse events and deaths related to medical error. Many of these have occurred during the perioperative phases of care.

To address this growing pub- lic and professional concern about patient safety, at the 2002

, I announced the cre- he AORN Presidential

Commission on Patient Safety This group will focus on patient saf’ety i n surgical settings and concentrate its activities on developing resources to help practitioners provide salk patient care. At its outset, this group will consist of t h e AORN mem- bers with expertise i n issues related to patient safety. These w e I I -qua1 i ii ed indi v i dual s include Doreen Wagner, RN, MSN. CNOR. Chair; Pat Hickey. RN. MS. CNOR; Jean Reeder, RN, PhD, FAAN; Linda Wanzer, R N , CNOR; and Aileen Killen, RN, PhD, CNOR. Other mem- bers may be added to this group

as necessary. Each Coinmission member’s expertise and experi- ence will provide critical guid- ance in setting AORN’s agetida related to patient safety i n surgi- cal settings.

Regarding the formation of this group. you might ask. “Why AORN? Why patient safety? Why now‘?” It is my belieFthat

within the perioperative setting, there is no other person who is more knowledgeable about the multiple critical issues surround- ing patient safety than the regis- tercd nurse. Thus, the intent of this Coinmission is to determine strategies and initiatives that will place AORN in the forefront of patient safety issues in the periop- erative setting and support our organizational etyorts to coordi- nate a common venue for dia- logue among the various men- bers of the multidisciplinary peri- operative team.

AORN’s initial elf’orts are directed at identifying, compil- ing, and creating clinical re- sources and educational products

related to patient sali-ty tha t address the needs of pcriopcw tive nurses. In this issue of the A O R N Joiwiiu/. readers have access to a newly developed guidance statement on safe med- ication practices in the OR (see page I 00X). Developed in recog- ni t io ti of t lie potent i a I magn i t iide and seriousness of medication errors, this guidance statement should assist clinicians in their elf’orts to develop and implement policies and procedures related to safe medication practice in the OR. The development ol’subsc- quent guidance statements will bc consistent with needs identi- tied hy the Presidential Coinmission on Patient Safety and AORN members and stall’ consultants.

[ t i this issue of tlie ,Awiiu/,

readers also will find a new col- umn, “Patient Saikty First” (scc page 1005). Each month, this col ti m ti wi I I feature up-to-date safety information pertinent 10

clinicians, managers, and educa- tors in perioperative settings. Also, watch the J O I I I . I I ~ I / thr addi- tional guidance statements on patient safety topics, such as “Safe medicalion practices i n perioperative practice settings.”

AORN also has launched a new web site. that is designed to provide ready access to resources related to patient safety in surgi- cal settings. Although AORN considers this site “under coil- struction,” existing content already includes a free contact hour educational otf’ering on

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patient safety, a listing of AORN’s current educational products and resources, full-text J o i m d articles, reference lists, and web links related to national patient safety initiatives. This site may be accessed directly at www.patientsafetyfirst.org or liom a link on the the AORN web site at www.aom.org.

Additionally, there is a safety consult e-mail address (patientsafetyfirst@aorn.org) for members to offer their comments and suggestions or ask for advice about safety in surgical settings. This resource also will provide members an opportunity to pro- vide feedback about the web site

and provide suggestions for its future development. Additional patient safety resources will include a patient safety “hotline” with toll-free access (xxx-xxx- xxxx). Calls to this line will be triaged by AORN staff members who are best prepared to answer safety questions or refer callers to the appropriate department.

The creation of this Com- mission and these new patient safety resources marks an impor- tant new beginning for AORN as we renew our commitment to support members in their efforts to provide quality patient care. AORN is the premier organiza- tion for perioperative nurses and,

as its President, I am dedicated to providing clinicians and man- agers the resources they need to ensure patient safety at the point of care. In the weeks, months, and year ahead, stay tuned to learn more about the initiatives of this Commission, the AORN Board of Directors, and this President to clearly demonstrate our commitment to and tradition of safe, quality care.

I welcome your feedback on this. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or sugges- tions at (800) 755-2676 x 3 1 I .

DONNA WATSON

PRESIDENT RN, MSN, CNOR, ARNP, FNP-C

Parents Prefer Eye Drop Treatment for Amblyopia Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicai Insti- tiitions and 54 North American eye care centers have found that a painless eye drop is as effective as an eye patch in correcting a mild form ofchildren’s amblyopia, often referred to as “lazy eye,” according to ii March 13, 2002, news release from Johns Hopkins. Amblyopia, the most common cause of’ vision loss in children and young adults, usually develops in early childhood and affects approxi- mately 3% of Americans. Most ophthalmologists recommend that treatment occurs before a child is eight years old, because the treatment success rate appears to decrease for older children.

Although an eye patch covering the unaft‘ected cye i s prescribed to correct this disorder 97% of the time, researchers found that parents preferred atropine treatment, which consists of administering ;in eye drop once per day to blur the unaffected eye. With either treatment, the amblyopic eye is forced to work harder to focus.

The study, which was funded by the National Eye Institute and the National Institutes of Health,

included 4 19 children ages six and younger in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Participants were diagnosed with moderate amblyopia (ie, visual acuity between 20140 and 20/100 in the amblyopic eye). Each participant was prescribed either an eye patch or atropine sulfate eye drops. Improvement in visual acuity was tested after five, 16, and 26 weeks of treatment.

Both treatments were found to iniprove visual acuity for most participants. with 79% improvement for those in the patching group and 74% iniprove- ment for those in the atropine group. Parents with children in the atropine group reported higher satis- faction with treatment because they did not need to monitor their children to make sure they did not remove the patch during the day.

Hopkins Researchers Find Eye Drops Preferable to Eye Patch in Treating Children’s Amblyopia (news release, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, March 13, 2002) h t t p : / W . hopkinsmedicine. org/press/2002/ MARCH/O203 13. htm (accessed 4 April 2002).

926 AORN JOURNAL