Surgical Safety Checklists Briefings: Perceived Efficacy and Team Member Involvement

Researchers have shown inconsistencies in compliance, outcomes and attitudes of surgical team members related to surgical safety checklist briefings. The purpose of this study was to examine surgical circulator and scrub practitioners' perceptions of safety checklist briefings and team member involvement, and to identify potential improvements in the process based on those perceptions. An anonymous survey was conducted with members of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). Questions focused on perceptions of checklist briefing efficacy and team member involvement in safety practices. From the 346 usable responses, a third respondent group of self-identified perioperative leaders emerged. Significant results were obtained related to leaders' perceptions, post-procedure briefings and various perceptions of team member involvement. Study results indicate that variances in safety practices continue as perceived by surgical team members thus presenting opportunities for further examination and improvement of processes in reducing surgical errors.