EP Lab Digest - April 2008 - (Page 20)

20 SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW APRIL 2008 SPOTLIGHT Continued from page 18 Databases help to monitor the incidence of infection, moderate sedation complications, and amiodarone follow-up and compliance. How is inventory managed at your EP lab? Who handles the purchasing of equipment and supplies? Inventory is manually monitored using a par level system.A physical inventory is done biannually in June and December.The purchasing of supplies is overseen by the EP lab supervisor and the hospital’s Procurement and Contract Office, though it is based on physician input and preference. patients. Our dedicated Heart Center personnel coordinate the outpatient scheduling and interface with the insurance companies and doctors’ offices to obtain all the necessary information prior to the patient admission. An assigned nurse provides pre-op instructions and reviews blood work a week prior to the procedure to insure that laboratory results are within an acceptable range. What procedures do you perform on an outpatient basis? Most of our cases can be done on an outpatient basis; this includes DFT testing, tilts, cardioversions, generator changes, and most ablations. Detailed PET/CT heart images contribute to faster, safer EP procedures. What measures has your EP lab implemented in order to cut or contain costs? In addition, in what ways have you improved efficiencies in patient through-put? Measures used to cut or contain costs include a “just in time inventory” with minimal par levels along with standardization of EP supplies. UMMC belongs to a consortium, which helps to maintain lower costs, and is actively involved with the hospital’s Procurement and Contracting Office during negotiations. Having dedicated personnel in key roles has helped to alleviate delays, cancellations, and general stumbling blocks that in the past have slowed or even stopped the flow of How are new employees oriented and trained at your facility? New staff members are assigned to a preceptor for a period of 3-4 months. They attend company classes on ICDs, PPMs, and programmers, along with hospital classes on moderate sedation. Further information is provided to the new employee through books, articles, DVDs and a didactic weekly morning conference meeting. There is another three-month rotation through our Device Clinic with an assigned preceptor/mentor. We have a very innovative research program, and have played a pivotal role in research regarding biphasic defibrillators and waveforms. What types of continuing education opportunities are provided to staff members? On a rotating basis, two staff members are able to attend the HRS conference, and one staff member is able to attend the SASEAP conference annually. The remainder of staff are allowed five conference days per year. The hospital provides RNs with a $500 reimbursement for conferences, membership dues, and/or journals or books. Sedation; Internal Review Board (IRB) for new research protocols; Patient and Family Education; Safety; Nurse Council; Nursing Trends; and the Ethics Committee. Several nurses from the EP lab were also members of the Guidant/Boston Scientific Advisory Board. How do you handle vendor visits to your department? Do you contract with vendors? Vendors are encouraged to set up appointments with the EP lab secretaries. If this is not done, meeting with them is not guaranteed but done on availability. How is staff competency evaluated? Annually competencies must be maintained. All RN are ACLS- and BLS-certified. How do you prevent staff burnout? We encourage staff to use their vacation and personal leave time in order to rejuvenate themselves.We have them attend conferences and also rotate staff out of the lab to allow ‘desk time’ to work on their projects. We provide them with as few scheduling constraints as possible while still maintaining patient flow.We also do activities that are not work related but encourage a ‘team spirit’, such as our book club and karaoke night. Please describe one of the more interesting or bizarre cases that has come through your EP lab. A 54-year-old patient was referred for VT; endocardial voltage mapping showed no myocardial scar. However, as we have extensive experience using cardiac imaging to guide complex ablations, we performed a PET/CT that demonstrated an epicardial scar. An epicardial ablation guided by PET/CT significantly reduced the VT burden. After a recurrence of arrhythmia several months later, we used our close collaboration with our cardiac surgeons during a mitral valve replacement to successfully perform an additional epicardial cryoablation of the scar. The patient has now been VT-free for >1 year. What committees, if any, are staff members asked to serve on in your lab? The UMMC’s new staffing model encourages all nurses to participate in hospital committees.The EP lab personnel has or is on the following committees: Moderate How does your lab handle call time for staff members? How often is

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - April 2008

EP Lab Digest - April 2008 Pediatric Electrophysiology Medical Relief Work on the Yucatan Peninsula: A Labor of Love EP 101: Considerations for the Elderly EP Patient Contents Letter from the Editor Spotlight Interview: University of Maryland A Summary of the ACC/AHA/Physician Consortium 2008 Clinical Performance Measures for Adults with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation or Flutter Can Psychosocial Characteristics Predict Fatal Outcomes in Patients? Interview with Jonathan S. Steinberg, MD, FACC 10-Minute Interview: Diane D. Sheffield, RN, BSN AED Access for All: An Organization for SCA Survivors New Column: 5 Quick Clues to AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia CMS 2008 OPPS Final Rule Review New Online AED and CPR Training Opportunities: Q & A with Keith Weaver Highlights from the 5th Annual International Arrhythmia Winter School Email Discussion Group Events Calendar Second Annual Salary Survey Industry News and Products Classifieds Advertisers Index

EP Lab Digest - April 2008

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