sunny54

Unbelievable! I'm just hoping the more stringent state regs here in California do not change to allow this. Sadly, laboratorians vs. RN's are a real David and Goliath story. Lab Scientists seem to lack the lobbying power to hold our ground.

Mary, How was your OR staff educated in using the form? Our ED department does a really good job of educating throughout the hospital but is pretty challenged when attempting to communicate policy changes to the OR staff. Any ideas?

Dear RRavkin, your request for issue forms appears to serve a request form and a log for the issuance of the product. I hope to use that type of format in the future when we are no longer paper based and can issue via computer. Thanks for your input!

Thanks for your input Mary and David! Mary, Is your form pre-printed with patient name etc. so that it can be completed quickly? Our OR does not have ready computer access so all forms need to be pre-printed. David, I fully agree that there should never be a delay in issuing blood to an OR patient due to paperwork! That is the conundrum; the risk of patient miss-identification versus a delay in issuing blood to a bleeding patient. It does seem reasonable to require the blood bank ID number and a name at a minimum and I like the idea of following up with the documents afterward.

Hello All, I need help! Our OR would like to streamline the blood issue process. We switched to using a blood bank id armband over a year ago but our OR has great difficulty with the issue process. Currently we require all hospital units including the OR to furnish a copy of the blood product order with the blood bank ID number attached for the blood bank to issue type specific units. The OR usually phones us several times to find out which documents are needed causing a lot of confusion and delays. We are a small hospital and issue units to the OR only once or twice monthly. I noticed in the previous thread, "nursing orders to transfuse", that folks treat the OR differently. Can you share your OR processes with me? I think this may simply be a nursing re-education issue of the current process but I'd be happy to make changes for the OR if there is a better process out there.

The patient's at our small community hospital also occasionally balk at having to wear a blood bank armband. We do allow them the option of placing it on their ankle with the advisement that they must let the pre-op nurse know where it's located when they arrive on the day of surgery. This has worked well to prevent some formerly contentious discussions with the pre-op nursing team and the lab phlebotomist as to why the patient had to leave the blood bank bracelet on at all, (discussions that unfortunately took place in front of the patient-arrgghh.)

Thanks so much Sandy, You get the "Blood Bank Historian award" today; Now I understand why I couldn't find it in the standards!

We also use Ortho confidence diluted 1:10 w/ albumin and diluent for the neg control but I can't find the standard requiring the reaction strength of 1-3+ Can someone tell me where to find the standard that requires a 1-3+ reaction for the positive antibody screen QC. Is it AABB, CAP or ???

I'm back with my field report: Funny How just lifting a finger, (or a pen or whatever is clenched in my hand at the time), can make such a difference in my day! I've used "the finger" least five or six times now over the past few days when someone needed to talk to me while I was reading tubes or writing my reactions. Thus far it's worked great without anyone taking offense. I just mention afterward that I needed to finish what I was doing before I could speak to them. It's a bit humbling that I couldn't come up with such a basic, simple idea on my own. I guess that is where this forum and all of you veteran blood bankers come in! It's reassuring to see that many of you have had similar issues and have come up with so many different ways of dealing with interruptions.

Thanks Everyone, You've made me feel so welcome. I really like the frindlisness and frankness of this site.

Me again-Thanks so much to all for the suggestions. I think I have some new tools to work with here! I especially like the finger and just saying straight out that I need to concentrate on what I'm doing or need to get the blood type right. That's sure saying it like it is! It's is so true that respect goes both ways and how you say it makes a huge difference. I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow and trying your ideas!

Yes L106- It's mostly the folks walking by my smallish department to other areas of the lab and making some kind of friendly comment-but unknowingly interrupting me while I'm in the middle of grading tubes or writing results. Perhaps some of you extrovert laboratorians can handle this but for me, a rather quiet sort, it just breaks my concentration. I trained at a hospital where we tiptoed around the blood bankers. Perhaps that was a bit much but it seemed that we understood their need to focus. I agree that bringing it up at the next department meeting might be a good idea. I'll give it a try!

As a new Blood Bank supervisor I'd like to get input from you on a sticky subject. How do you let your co-workers know that when you are performing blood bank work at the bench the interruptions need to be kept at a minimum? I'm often interrupted by casual greetings or chit-chat and find this very frustrating. I realize I could post a big sign that says "QUIET IN THE BLOOD BANK," but I'm hoping for a less offensive way of getting the message accross. Ideas?

Hello fellow Blood Bankers! I'm thrilled to have found this forum and have been lurking around for a while gathering a great deal of info. I've been a generalist CLS for 25 years and, after a sudden departure of our Blood Bank supervisor, have taken on the role. Though I worked in Blood Bank frequently I'm amazed at how little I really knew of the day to day workings of the Blood Bank. I'm working hard to get up to speed but it has certainly been a challenge! Looking forward to more learning from all of you:)