A 20-year career nurse practitioner, Dee Minor began working at the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Administration Medical Center in 2009. When she was pursuing her DNP in 2013, the hospital sought to lower surgery cancellations by implementing a standardized preoperative evaluation to reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality — a task Minor turned into her DNP project.

After examining the scheduling process, Minor implemented a risk stratification tool for all patients being considered for elective surgery so fewer procedures would be cancelled due to poor patient health.

“There are risks associated with surgery. Our focus is to provide efficient, safe care to our veterans while decreasing avoidable surgical cancellations. Implementing a preoperative evaluation helps ensure that veterans receive the best and safest surgical care possible,” Minor says.

One year after implementing the new evaluation, cancellations dropped by seven percent. The tool is individualized for each veteran and is still being used today.