All the years that I participated in DAISY Award nominations in our institution, I seldom see inducted nominees from my area of specialty. You see, I work in the Operating Room (OR), specifically the TMC OR. And as an OR nurse, I often wonder why there are so few OR nurses who have received the DAISY Award. I guess, there are not many patients who remember the OR nurses who took care of them while they were in the procedure room. Understandably, surgical patients usually spend more time “asleep” under general anesthesia, covered up with sterile drapes, than being awake. When they are awake, patients are affected by the calming and relaxing effect of Versed in pre-op and in PACU, they are still groggy, emerging from general anesthesia. So, I got it!

But today, I wanted to share a story.

I want to introduce you to Taylor Yee. Taylor joined our TMC OR department back in the height of COVID in 2021 as a nurse resident cohort. A timid and young nurse without any nursing experience, she started her journey as an OR nurse. Taylor was assigned to OR 15 to take care of an ENT patient who underwent an ear procedure, specifically the right ear. The patient’s right ear was marked appropriately. Taylor, the anesthesia provider, and the patient confirmed the procedure including the laterality in the pre-op. Taylor, along with anesthesia, wheeled the patient into OR 15. After transferring to the OR bed, the patient was induced. Like many ENT procedures in the OR, this one also required for the OR table to be turned 180 degrees, so that the head of the patient was away from anesthesia, allowing the surgeon to access the ear/face without any obstructions. After the patient was repositioned, Taylor proceeded with reconnecting the OR equipment like cautery, SCD, and our HAPI preventive mattress (DABIR). The surgeon was observed to grab the prep stand and started to shave the ear. At this time, Taylor heard the surgeon asking for help scooting the patient to the “left” which caught Taylor’s attention. Taylor looked up and noticed that the surgeon was shaving the hair on the “left” side of the head. Taylor quickly pointed out to the surgeon that she was shaving the “left” side of the head. The ENT surgeon turned the head to expose the right ear which had the “yes” marking and proceeded with the prepping and the procedure.

I am so proud of Taylor who was attentive and caught the error. Taylor was courageous as she spoke up for her patient. She single-handedly prevented the surgeon operating on the wrong site. Taylor’s action had saved this patient from becoming a victim of a wrong-sided procedure. I just wanted to applaud OR nurses, like Taylor Yee, who is committed to patient safety every day!