Florida Surgical Center (Adult OP)
Shands Florida Surgical Center is an outpatient surgery center that has seven preoperative areas, four operating room suites, two minimally invasive procedural areas (Endoscopy Suites) and 11 post-anesthesia care areas.
Perioperative nurses working at Shands Florida Surgical Center strive to achieve a high standard of excellence when providing services for all phases of perioperative care. The unit is staffed with registered nurses, surgical technologists and ancillary support personnel.
Optimal facility utilization runs 70 to 90 percent. The operating rooms are equipped and staffed to accommodate every level of acuity for surgical patients of all ages.
Patient Population
The patient population generally excludes the neonate and class IV or higher anesthesia risk patients. Exceptions may be made based upon surgeon and medical director recommendation.
Surgical specialists provide care at Shands Florida Surgical Center in general surgery, orthopaedics, oral maxillofacial, otolaryngology, plastic, urology, gynecology, pediatric surgery and GI endoscopy.
Health Care Team
The medical director is an appointed anesthesiologist. Shands Florida Surgical Center medical staff using the facility are credentialed by Shands at the University of Florida with privileges open to community physicians.
The nursing management structure consists of a nurse manager (shared with Shands’ OR and PACU), a clinical coordinator, administrative assistant, purchasing associate and three charge nurses.
The unit leadership fosters an autonomous, accountable nursing practice by providing opportunities to staff members for involvement with quality improvement, peer reviews and professional practice activities. Collaboration in the unit among registered nurses, physicians, anesthesiologists, surgical technologists, sterile supply technicians, patient support technicians and the business office staff is fostered by unit committees.
New staff are oriented to the unit during a planned orientation ranging from two to six months depending on previous perioperative nursing experience. Professional certification in certified nurse operating room (CNOR) for perioperative nursing is available from the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) and American Society of Post Anesthesia Nurses (ASPAN). Certification in Surgical Technology (CST) is available from the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). All staff who are responsible for direct patient care must pass the Basic Life Support (BLS) skills course. Operating room staff are provided training experiences to attain and maintain competence in their role as defined by the job description for the specific role and by the departmental education plan.
Staffing Plan
The team nursing model is used as the method of care delivery on this unit. Staffing of caregivers is based upon the actual number of planned cases and anticipated acuity of patients on a daily basis. Scheduled working hours may be flexible based upon the distribution of the case load.