Setting the standard: The role of ACORN. Part II: Counting, the gold standard to prevent the inadvertent retention of surgical items - Or is it?
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- ACORN, 2006, 19 (2), pp. 24 - 29
- Issue Date:
- 2006-12-01
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This is the second paper that presents the results of research about the role and effectiveness of ACORN. The first paper, published in the last edition of the ACORN journal, presented the data about the role of ACORN, which demonstrated the significance of the ACORN standards. The majority of respondents, who were perioperative nurse managers and former or current ACORN Board members, believed the standards had a positive effect on nursing practice and patient outcomes, and were the benchmark for perioperative nursing practice. Although most respondents professed the value of the standards, occasionally their beliefs were tempered by a number of other issues that emerged from the data about standards. The opinions of a minority of respondents contrasted with the beliefs of most of them; however, these 'minority' opinions were revealing, too. This paper focuses on the results of analysis of the data collected about the ACORN counting standard. These were in Part E of the NUM questionnaire (NUM Q). This part sought to ascertain if the ACORN counting standard was used to inform counting practices in the respondents' operating suites, and if respondents believed it prevented the inadvertent retention of a surgical item. Also elicited was information on how respondents reported and dealt with cases of incorrect counts and missing surgical items.
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