TITLE:
Perspectives of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists on Endoscopy Room Delays
AUTHORS:
Danny T. Y. Wu, Rohan Sachdeva, Paul Murdock, Scott Vennemeyer, Lisa Mattucci-Hunter, Marcus Lehman
KEYWORDS:
CRNA, Workflow, Efficiency, Endoscopy, Qualitative
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
17,
2021
ABSTRACT: As hospitals undergo reductions in budget and the demand for endoscopic procedures grows, the need for more efficient endoscopy units has increased. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) play a vital role in Endoscopy Units and because of this, increasing CRNA work efficiency would increase the efficiency of the entire unit. This pilot study aims to explore CRNA workflow and identify workflow barriers present in endoscopy rooms through qualitative interview analysis. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The interview data were analyzed qualitatively to generate workflow diagrams and four themes of workflow barriers and representative quotes. These themes include: 1) physician unavailability, 2) patient delay and variability, 3) suboptimal teamwork and coordination, and 4) issues with supporting tools. The workflow barriers reflect and extend the current literature, and can inform future quality improvement initiatives.