Perceptions from nurses, surgeons, and anesthetists about the use and benefits of the surgical checklist in a teaching hospital

Abstract

Objective: To assess attitudes and perceptions from nursing staff, surgeons and anesthetists about compliance, utility, and impact on patient's safety of the surgical checklist in a teaching hospital. We also aimed to identify improvement opportunities for strengthening the usefulness of the checklist in the operating theater. Methods: We carried out a questionnaire-based an observational cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was distributed to operating room staff, including nursing staff, surgeons, and anesthetists. In addition to the information about surgical checklist, We also collected information regarding years of experience in the operating theater. Fisher's exact was used to compare proportions in each statement. Group discussion meetings with key professionals were held to jointly assess the results, propose improvement actions, and evaluate their feasibility. Results: The overall response rate was 36.2% (131/362). Nursing staff was perceived as the most supportive group in the use of surgical checklist. A 64.3% of surgeons considered that using the checklist prevented adverse events vs 84.2% and 85.7% among anesthetists and nurses, respectively; p=0.028. Junior staff showed a supportive attitude toward the use of surgical checklist, considering it as a tool that gives them confidence. We ended up with a list of improvement actions aiming at strengthening the surgical checklist reliability and compliance. Conclusions: The perception of the surgical checklist usefulness as a tool to prevent adverse events was moderate among surgeons, but well appreciated by junior staff. Nursing staff were especially critical regarding compliance and support by other professionals. To reinforce the usefulness perception of the surgical checklist it is needed to increase the involvement of all professionals, especially senior staff and surgical leaders.