No one works harder to prepare patients for surgery than Tammy Allaman, our Preadmission Testing nurse. Tammy is a dedicated and conscientious professional who works tirelessly to ensure our patients are properly prepared for surgery and that their charts include all necessary documentation. Patient safety is Tammy's main focus and having worked as an OR nurse for many years, she understands, first hand, what each procedure involves and the importance of proper preparation, not only for the patient, but also for all staff caring for the patient. With this in mind, Tammy formulated a quick reference guide that contains all of the patient's important information to address the needs of the admitting, OR, PACU and Stage II RNs as well as the anesthesiologists. This completed form helps to speed the process on the day of surgery as it is placed in the front of each patient's chart for review by the various members of the healthcare team.

Tammy leaves no stone unturned when completing her nursing assessments. Anything she is unfamiliar with Tammy spends time researching. A patient who was scheduled for urological surgery told Tammy, during his interview with her, that he had an implanted spinal stimulator although there was no mention of it in his History and Physical. That night Tammy stayed up until 11:30 PM researching articles to see what the implications would be for the OR. The next day she communicated with the OR to assure that a magnet could be used to turn it off if cautery needed to be used.

I don't think anyone realizes the amount of behind-the-scenes effort it takes once a patient is booked for surgery. Tracking down all of the necessary documentation, making sure the anesthesia guidelines are followed, multiple phone calls to the surgeon's offices and to the patients to schedule appointments takes a great deal of organizational skill and at times, intestinal fortitude. I, for one am very glad that we have Tammy, the right person for the right job. I am nominating Tammy for this DAISY award in recognition of all of her efforts to assure patient safety.