Clinical Educator-Perioperative/Specialty Services Division University Medical Center of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Description: According to ECRI Institute, one of the nation’s leading, most trusted resources for safety involving medical devices and practices in all healthcare settings, approximately 90-100 surgical fires are reported per year.
As there is an increased risk of fire in surgical/ procedural areas due to a greater amount of fuel and ignition sources, coupled with higher rates of oxygen flow delivery; the concern regarding the possibility of the occurrence of a fire is not unwarranted and cannot be over-emphasized when providing education and awareness for perioperative personnel.
The use of the mnemonic RACE (Rescue, Alarm, Contain, Extinguish/Evacuate) has been in existence for as long as most healthcare and emergency providers can recollect and is an easy method to remember the elements of fire control and rescue. However, in the surgical/procedural setting, use of the mnemonic RACE is incongruous with actual practice.
The February 2005 Environment of Care News, discussed how response to fires in surgical/procedural settings were exactly opposite of the traditional RACE mnemonic. Using the ECRAs mnemonic, staff should Extinguish the oxygen source, Contain the fire by removing the burning materials, Rescue the patient by caring for him/her, Alarm, and finally, sequester involved items for further investigation.
In 2009, ECRI Institute distributed posters outlining the ECRAs steps; however, the suggested deviation from the customary RACE mnemonic has largely gone unnoticed by the majority of healthcare facilities. The goal of this poster presentation is to bring awareness to perioperative nurses and ancillary staff about using the mnemonic ECRAs instead of RACE in surgical/procedural areas.