Using a Tibetan Gong to Increase Staff Member Engagement During Time Outs

Perioperative and procedure area nurses can encounter barriers during the time-out process. In March 2016, a mock regulatory agency surveyor identified a gap during a time out in our cardiac catheterization laboratory. We worked with our facility's holistic nursing group to identify a solution to gain the full attention of all procedure area team members during each time out. Historically, ceremonial leaders used a gong to begin events because they thought that the sound helped participants focus on the ceremony. Because we wanted staff members to participate in a mindful practice during time outs, we decided to use a Tibetan gong to draw attention to the process. After implementing this change, staff members were more engaged during the time-out process than they were before the change. In addition, facility leaders requested that we share our process with the staff members in the perioperative and endoscopic areas.