Right sequence of WHO's Surgical safety checklist?

NORCET 2 -2021 (Shift-2)

Medical Surgical Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: NORCET 2 -2021 (Shift-2)

Explanation

The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist follows a logical chronological order corresponding to the stages of a surgical procedure.
Sign In is the first step, performed before the induction of anesthesia to ensure all preliminary checks are complete before the patient is sedated.
Time Out is the second step, a crucial pause taken immediately before the skin incision to allow the entire team to confirm the plan and prevent wrong-site, wrong-procedure, or wrong-patient errors.
Sign Out is the final step, conducted before the patient leaves the operating room to wrap up the procedure, account for all materials, and ensure a safe handover for post-operative care.

Option A: This sequence is incorrect because 'Sign Out' is the final phase, occurring after the surgery is completed, not before the 'Time Out'.
Option B: This sequence is incorrect. 'Sign In' must be the first step to initiate the safety process, and 'Sign Out' is the concluding step.
Option C: This sequence is incorrect. 'Time Out' is the pause before the incision (the middle step), not the initial step. 'Sign In' must always come first.

Visual 1: Flowchart - A clear flowchart illustrating the three phases (Sign In → Time Out → Sign Out) with their respective timings (Before Anesthesia → Before Incision → Before Leaving OR).
Visual 2: Infographic - An infographic of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist itself, highlighting the key questions asked during each of the three phases.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Sequence of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
The Surgical Safety Checklist is a cornerstone of modern patient safety in perioperative care. Its correct implementation is a core nursing responsibility in the operating room.
Consistent use of the checklist has been proven to reduce surgical complications, mortality rates, and instances of medical error.
What if? If the 'Time Out' is skipped, the risk of a 'never event' like wrong-site surgery increases dramatically. The nurse has a professional and ethical duty to halt the procedure and insist that a 'Time Out' be performed.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is the correct order of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.
Recall the three main components: 'Sign In', 'Time Out', and 'Sign Out'.
Think logically about the flow of a surgical procedure. A patient must be 'signed in' before anything starts. A 'time out' or pause makes sense right before the critical action (incision). Finally, the patient is 'signed out' upon completion.
This logical flow corresponds to: Before anesthesia (Sign In), Before incision (Time Out), and Before leaving the OR (Sign Out).
Evaluate the options to find the one that matches this chronological sequence: Sign in, Time out, Sign out.

Concept Tested & Keywords

QHMOkQIFmIyCe_Wehegv0w