National Time Out Day

National Time Out Day, held each year on the second Wednesday in June, is a vital initiative led by AORN to highlight the importance of taking a surgical "time out" before every procedure. Created in 2004, this national observance empowers perioperative nurses to lead a moment of pause to verify the right patient, right procedure, and right site—ensuring safe surgery through clear communication and teamwork.

The Time Out is often the final safety check before incision. It gives every member of the surgical team the opportunity to speak up, review key details, and voice concerns. This critical pause—usually lasting around two minutes—is time well spent to prevent never events like wrong-site surgery.

Reported wrong site, wrong procedure, wrong patient and wrong implant surgeries increased 26% in 2023, according to new numbers from The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Data 2023 Annual Review. Leading contributors to wrong surgeries cited in the report include:

• No or insufficient Time-Out procedures
• Preoccupation/task fixation limiting situational awareness
• No or inadequate shared understanding among team members

Get the latest evidence on best practices for Time Out and other team communications in surgery.

Legislators are not often familiar with what happens in an operating room. The Time Out Day observance highlights your role in patient care and commitment to patient safety as the perioperative nurse caring for your patients. AORN encourages perioperative nurses to write to your legislators about the importance of taking a time out for every patient every time. 

Want to go a step further?

Send a letter to the editor of your local paper! AORN encourages perioperative nurses to write letters to their local papers to educate readers about the importance of taking a time out for every patient every time.