Under Pressure

Patient Positioning Injuries   As I sit in my office I hear multiple conversations echoing down the hallway.  Yet, one conversation has caught my attention. A new perioperative nurse is complaining about how long it has taken to position a surgical patient.  The response from her preceptor is that positioning is like construction you have to build a good foundation.  Positioning matters, and it should take time because the last thing you want to happen is your patient to have a pressure injury or nerve damage. At my hospital, pressure injuries have been a major topic of concern across multiple care settings, and we have organized a multidisciplinary team to address the issue. There are many risks to surgery. However, most patients and family members are worried about post-operative pain, surgical site infections and anesthesia complications. Patient positioning is a risk that most do not consider, however, immediate post-operative complication can occur as wel...