Committee of Interns and Residents Launches OR Safety Task Force
In December 2007,
CIR News reported on a
New England Journal of Medicine article that revealed high rates of surgery resident needlesticks.
CIR News also interviewed CIR surgical resident members about the article and their own experience with needlesticks. Why are surgery residents getting so many sticks? Why are rates of reporting sticks so low? And how do residents come to grips with the serious occupational exposure they face on a daily basis?
To begin answering these important questions, CIR has formed an OR Safety Task Force.
In May 2008, CIR ran an OR Safety Workshop at our annual National Convention in Washington DC. Fourteen CIR delegates from the specialties of general surgery, OB-GYN, orthopedics, and otolaryngology participated in the workshop, and the extent of the problem was soon evident. Going around the room, these fourteen residents had a cumulative estimated total of 70+ needlesticks!
Workshop participants identified several ideas for future action, including:
- Survey surgery residents about their experience in CIR hospitals
- Develop educational materials for surgical residents in both CIR and non-CIR hospitals
- Improve needlestick reporting and treatment in our hospitals.
- Identify OR safety equipment and techniques and the attending mentors who use it (or are willing to try)
- Network with individual surgeons, organizations and researchers interested in OR safety
To begin work on these important projects, CIR has formed an OR Safety Task Force.
>> Click here to find out more about the CIR OR Safety Task Force
The Task Force is chaired by:
Jori Carter, MD (PGY 4 Ob-Gyn, Boston Medical Center)
Matthew Harris, MD (PGY 3 Orthopedics, Westchester Medical Center)
John Ingle, MD (PGY 3 Otolaryngology, University of New Mexico)
Vaughn Whittaker, MD (PGY 6 Transplant Fellow, Columbia Presbyterian).
