Standardizing the Handling of Surgical Specimens

To standardize the handling of surgical specimens, the OR clinical educators in a community hospital setting devised a series of departmental changes as a quality improvement project. A newly created skill validation was reviewed in an hour-long educational meeting with all OR staff members. In addition to creating a new annual skill validation, discussions about specimens were included in the hand over, the time out, and a newly instituted debriefing tool to be used toward the end of a procedure. This interdisciplinary group devised interventions to improve the process of handling specimens such as standardizing the labeling process and changing the transparency of the specimen container. The goal was to assure standardization of specimen handling, specifically to assist novice staff members, and to harmonize inconsistencies between specialties within the practice of existing staff members. These combined methods helped to ensure accurate communication and procurement of specimens for all procedures.