Instituting Code Blue Drills in the OR

A code blue in the OR is a low-volume, high-risk event. To be effective during a code blue event, perioperative personnel must be able to properly execute a response plan and perform seldom-used skills and procedures. I developed and implemented a code blue drill educational experience for OR staff members that included a review of code blue policy, how to use a defibrillator, and simulated code blue scenarios. In addition, I worked with educational facilitators to provide an assessment of the personnel who performed the simulated code blue drills to identify key learning opportunities, such as gaps in communication, poor performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, ineffective delegation skills, and lack of assertiveness. One month after the educational experience, all team members passed an observed competency for responding to a code blue in a simulation laboratory. These results show the effectiveness of the educational experience as part of the code blue drills program in the hospital's main OR.