The Operating Theatre Journal November 2020

New Orbis International Training Tool Sets
Gold Standard to Prepare Ophthalmic
Nurses for the Operating Room
Scrub Nurses Play a Critical Role in Ensuring Positive Outcomes for
Patients Undergoing Surgery
Today, Orbis International, a leading global nonprofit that has
trained eye care teams in places with the greatest need for nearly
four decades, announced the publication of the Orbis Ophthalmic
Nursing Competency Assessment Rubric (ONCAR) for scrub nurses and
technicians in Insight, the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered
Nurses’ peer-reviewed clinical journal. The ONCAR is the first
published tool of its kind for ophthalmic nurse training.
The new tool fills a critical gap
by providing a gold standard
from which to assess early
career ophthalmic scrub
nurses’ readiness for the
operating room and outlining
the specific skills nurses must
demonstrate to progress from
novicehood to competency
during training. The ONCAR
covers 19 core competencies,
including equipment set-up,
pre-surgical handwashing,
setting up a sterile field,
handling of sharp equipment,
prepping the operating room,
proper care of sutures and
steps to safely wrap up the
operation. The rubric was
modeled after the International
Scrub Nurses in Vietnam receive
training on how to prepare and
sterilize surgical stations.
Photo: Geoff Oliver Bugbee
Council of Ophthalmology’s Ophthalmology Surgical Competency
Assessment Rubric (ICO-OSCAR), the accepted standardized rubric for
both teaching and assessing the surgical skills of ophthalmologists-intraining.
“It is our hope that the ONCAR is adopted globally in the training of
ophthalmic scrub nurses and technicians,” said Angela Purcell, RN,
coauthor of the ONCAR and Head Nurse of Orbis’s Flying Eye Hospital.
“Evidence shows that well-trained ophthalmic scrub nurses play a
critical role not just in preventing complications during surgery,
but also in ensuring positive outcomes for patients overall. These
nurses are often patients’ first line of contact for understanding the
procedure they are about to undergo as well as follow-up care.”
Released during the World Health Organization’s Year of the Nurse,
the paper underscores Orbis’s commitment to training every member
of the eye care team – not only ophthalmologists, but also nurses,
anesthesiologists and biomedical engineers. Empowering and
supporting all local practitioners is critical for ensuring that patients
get the best possible care and a meaningful step in democratizing and
strengthening eye care systems.
Even though Orbis’s Flying Eye Hospital has been temporarily
grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orbis’s staff nurses continue
to contribute to the field with peer-reviewed publications like the
ONCAR, conducting virtual trainings for nurses, and developing new
courses to be offered when in-person training can safely resume.
Moving forward, Orbis plans to conduct additional research to
measure outcomes of using the ONCAR in training. Orbis also plans to
create rubrics for other sub-specialties of nursing, such as sterilization
and circulating nursing.
To learn more, please visit orbis.org
When responding please quote ‘OTJ’
CS Medical is now Care Surgical
CS Medical have now completed our rebrand to Care Surgical.
Over the past 5 years CS Medical has become
a trusted name in the operating theatre
and is widely known for our outstanding
product quality and customer service.
Our first positioning solution, the
Prone Plus Helmet and Face cushion
has now helped protect over a
quarter of a million prone patients
worldwide. Although the CS name is
well known and respected among our
many customers, we felt that it didn’t
fully represent our purpose and company
philosophy.
So why Care Surgical?
Simple, our mission is to advance and improve patient Care in the
Surgical environment.
Our commitment to enhance patient outcomes is our prime focus
as well as the driving force behind everything that we do. Correct
positioning is essential for a positive surgical outcome and nowhere is
this truer than during prone procedures. From pressure related injury
to nerve damage and even blindness prone positioning poses a serious
risk to the patient. For these reasons Care Surgical have not just
developed single products but full positioning solutions.
Our latest innovation, the CS Spine Frame, provides a comprehensive
tabletop solution for prone positioning. From the head to the arms,
chest, hips, knee’s and feet we strive to ensure that the patient’s
whole anatomy is correctly and safely supported. The system gives
you a patient position comparable to that of a specialist spine table
but at a fraction of the cost.
So what’s changed?
We’re the same company with the same experienced team, just with a
new face! We feel our fresh new brand better represents who we are
and our position as innovative product engineers and reliable suppliers
of high quality, affordable positioning solutions.
Visit our new website at www.care-surgical.com
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clinical articles for publication
within the pages of
The Operating Theatre Journal
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