orm_january-2024 - 22

Staffing
SPD scheduling pattern
Staffing in the sterile processing department (SPD) should match the anticipated workload
by hour of day. Unfortunately, many departments continue to use straight shifts. An example
of how staffing is adjusted to demand is shown below.
Source: Sullivan Healthcare Consulting. From staffing to sterilization: The critical aspects
of SPD. nd. Used with permission.
departments, we see a lot more specialization. "
Specialization requires investing
time to build staff skills to ensure
competencies and determining the number
of people needed for each specialty
to support service lines. In addition,
staff should specialize in more than one
area to facilitate scheduling.
Education. Maintaining competent
staff requires ongoing education. Cedars-Sinai
provides a 1-hour inservice
every Wednesday at 6 am and 2 pm
to facilitate attendance. The program
may consist of a presentation by an
employee or vendor, or hands-on experience
to build skills. " Our staff love it, "
Wall says. New trays are made available
for a week before implementation
( " Show and Tell Inservices " ) so staff
can ask supervisors any questions before
the tray goes into service.
The SPD educator at HSHS St.
John's Hospital is responsible for presenting
at least two inservices each
month. Bondon promotes additional
education outside the hospital through
participation in events associated with
the local chapter of HSPA. Participation
has the added advantage of networking
opportunities. He also has some staff
members accompany him to HSPA's
22
OR Manager | January 2024
annual conference. In addition to education,
Bondon says, " Attending the conference
gives them a greater perspective
on the industry as a whole. "
Bondon often combines education
with family activities and likes to include
SPD staff from other hospitals. " Our
hospitals may be in competition with
one another, but SPDs are not in competition, "
he says. Most SPD processes
are mandated by standards and regulations,
and all need to follow manufacturers'
instructions for use, so the work is
similar in different settings. At a recent
SPD Family Fun Day at a local park, SPD
staff and their families in the region
enjoyed food, music, and a wave pool.
Vendors provided education, and family
members could visit a repair van to
gain insights into their loved ones' work.
Events like this help build relationships
that provide important benefits. " When
we encounter problems that we don't
have answers for, we can call other colleagues
in the area, " Bondon says.
Although educational needs related
to technical skills are easy to identify,
Bondon says it is also important for
staff to learn soft skills, such as those
needed when they communicate with
the customers in the many departments
with which they interface. Bondon uses
role playing to prepare staff for difficult
conversations and to learn from ones
that have already occurred. " We talk
through what happened and what could
have been done differently, " he says.
Bondon emphasizes the need to tell
the truth. He cites the example of three
surgical procedures needing the same
instrumentation being scheduled in succession,
but because there are only
two sets of instruments, the first set
will have to be reprocessed before the
third procedure can occur. The surgeon
or OR staff may demand immediate use
sterilization so the case can proceed
as scheduled, but that is not safe practice
and not what is best for the patient.
However, under pressure, staff
may say the instruments can be ready
in 30 minutes instead of the required 2
hours. Bondon has staff give the correct
amount of time and walk the surgeon
or OR staff through each step and how
long each will take.
Optimal scheduling
The SPD staff schedule
needs to reflect
OR workflow patterns,
rather than match OR
shifts (sidebar, SPD
scheduling pattern.)
" What works best is to
ramp up throughout the
day to meet the instrument
volume coming
Matthew Box,
MMHC, CRCST,
CHMMC
from surgery, with overlap of shifts in
the afternoon, then start moving downward
in the evening unless you are a
large university system that does surgeries
all night long, " says Matthew Box,
MMHC, CRCST, CHMMC, senior consultant
for Sullivan Healthcare Consulting.
Shifts depend on the nature and volume
of the work. Cedars-Sinai has three
shifts: day (6 am to 2:30 pm), evening
(2 pm to 10:30 pm) and night (10 pm
to 6:30 am). Wall says starting at 6 am
allows staff to miss rush hour and have
time to ensure everything is ready for
the first case of the day. The evening
shift does the bulk of preparing case
www.ormanager.com

http://www.ormanager.com

orm_january-2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of orm_january-2024