Surgical Time Outs in a Combat Zone

Abstract

AORN supports the Joint Commission's requirements and guidelines to promote correct site surgery, including preoperative verification, site marking, and conducting and documenting a surgical time out. This article highlights the success of a well-implemented surgical time out policy and procedure at a two-bed combat support hospital in northern Iraq. Policy implementation, training, documentation, and quality management chart checks prevented any incidence of wrong site surgery through the completion of more than 900 procedures on more than 400 patients during a 15-month period.