Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2026
06:48
Emergency Undocking in Robotic Surgery: A Simulation Curriculum
Published on: May 20, 2018
9.2K
Greater Familiarity Between Surgeon and Operating Room-Allied Health Staff Is Associated With Shorter Case Duration-A
David A Etzioni1,2, Melana Elliot1, Lani MacMillan1
1Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ.
Annals of Surgery
|March 27, 2025
Summary
Increased surgeon-staff familiarity, particularly with scrub technicians and circulating nurses, leads to more efficient operating room (OR) performance. This improved team experience shortens operation times and enhances overall clinical efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Surgical Operations Management
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Operating room (OR) efficiency significantly impacts hospital finances and patient outcomes.
- Surgeon-staff familiarity is a key factor for optimizing OR processes and improving quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between surgeon-staff familiarity and the duration of surgical operations.
- To quantify the impact of team experience on operating room efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 257,645 operations across 25 specialties in four academic hospitals (July 2019 - December 2023).
- Familiarity defined as median staff experience (scrub technicians, circulating nurses) with the surgeon in the prior 180 days.
- Primary outcome: actual case length being at least 10% shorter than scheduled; secondary outcome: difference between observed and expected case length.
Main Results:
- Higher surgeon-staff familiarity correlated with a greater likelihood of shorter case lengths (Observed:Expected ratio 1.16 for high/high vs. 0.90 for low/low familiarity).
- Increased familiarity resulted in cases being 8.7% shorter than scheduled compared to less familiar teams (P < 0.001).
- Shorter surgical times (cut-to-close) were observed in operations with higher team familiarity for the four most common case types.
Conclusions:
- Greater recent experience between surgeons and their allied health staff (scrub technicians, circulating nurses) enhances operational efficiency.
- Surgical team familiarity is a critical element for achieving operational and clinical excellence in the OR.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
The barriers to effective communication also include cultural barriers, semantic barriers, gender barriers, and time constraints.
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
01:30Endoscopic Studies I: Bronchoscopy and Thoracoscopy
Endoscopy is a non-surgical medical technique used to examine a person's internal organs and vessels. This lesson will focus on two types of endoscopic studies: bronchoscopy and thoracoscopy.
Bronchoscopy
Description
Bronchoscopy is a procedure that involves direct visualization of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A flexible fiber optic or rigid bronchoscope is used to carry out the procedure. The fiber-optic bronchoscope is more frequently used due to...
Bronchoscopy
Description
Bronchoscopy is a procedure that involves direct visualization of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A flexible fiber optic or rigid bronchoscope is used to carry out the procedure. The fiber-optic bronchoscope is more frequently used due to...
01:26Endoscopic Studies II: Thoracocentesis
Thoracentesis(Thoracocentesis), commonly known as pleural tap, is a medical procedure where a 22 gauge needle is inserted into the pleural space, the area between the lung and chest wall. This procedure is commonly performed to diagnose or treat various respiratory disorders.
Description
Excess pleural fluid or air may accumulate in some respiratory disorders in the thoracic cavity. To treat pleural effusion, a physician conducts thoracentesis by carefully piercing the chest wall and entering...
Description
Excess pleural fluid or air may accumulate in some respiratory disorders in the thoracic cavity. To treat pleural effusion, a physician conducts thoracentesis by carefully piercing the chest wall and entering...
01:25Endoscopic Procedures II: Colonoscopy
The colon, or large intestine, is the final segment of the digestive system. Its primary functions include absorbing water and vitamins produced by gut bacteria and transforming waste from liquid to solid to form stool. In adults, the large intestine is approximately 5 feet long and consists of four main sections:
01:26Endoscopic Procedures IV: Sigmoidoscopy and Laproscopy
Sigmoidoscopy and laparoscopy are distinct medical procedures that enable physicians to internally inspect different parts of the GI tract. Although they serve different purposes, each is essential for diagnosing and, in some cases, treating various medical conditions.
Sigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that uses a flexible sigmoidoscope equipped with a light source and camera to examine the rectum and sigmoid colon. The procedure involves inserting the tube through the anus...
Sigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that uses a flexible sigmoidoscope equipped with a light source and camera to examine the rectum and sigmoid colon. The procedure involves inserting the tube through the anus...