I know from personal experience that if you drop a three-liter canister of solidified fluid waste onto an OR floor, it’s a nightmare to mop up. It’s like cleaning spilled Jell-O....

At the height of the pandemic last year, Paras Barnett, BSN, RN, HNB-BC, CMSRN, a nurse at Stanford Health Care in San Jose, Calif., knew her colleagues needed a way to...

We’re almost two years into the pandemic and by now the revamped infection prevention protocols you rushed to implement in order to keep your doors open must...

Administrative staff can suffer from shoulder, back and neck strain caused by cradling phones between their ears and shoulders for hours on end, so Marisa Ynchausti, RN, BSN, clinical nurse manager at National Ambulatory...

Coming up with a discreet way to identify patients who have bloodborne pathogens such as HIV or hepatitis B — infectious diseases that pose risks to staff members — simultaneously maintains patient dignity...

Medicare requires surgical facilities to have an emergency plan in place for rare and dire events that could take place in a healthcare setting. Of course, even the most comprehensive emergency plan won’t help if...

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Surgeons clearly don’t intend to cause stray energy burns when they cut and coagulate tissue with energy-based surgical...

What does safe surgical care mean to you? Eliminating avoidable adverse events by developing and maintaining competent teams...

Proper medication safety requires surgical leaders to ask some very tough questions. Are employees stealing drugs for consumption or resale? Did a staffer not dilute a drug...

A nurse suffers a serious back injury while trying to lift a patient without help. A patient falls during the transition from the OR to the PACU. Unfortunately, these issues happen...

Why don’t all healthcare facilities employ some sort of surgical smoke evacuation system? Not only does surgical smoke smell and obstruct the surgeon’s view of the...

Kathy Beydler, RN, MBA, CNOR, CASC, has seen her fair share of slips and trips in the OR — some resulting in significant injuries and missed work time — during her time as a...

All too often, misconceptions regarding the inherent safety risks associated with intraoperative fluoroscopy obscure a fundamental truth about C-arms: With the right...

Effective sharps safety is a multifaceted endeavor. It requires a holistic approach that incorporates mindfulness, effective communication, safety-engineered devices,...

Every time we send out a staff engagement survey, we include the following question: Does your manager have a safety-first mindset? The question may seem out of place on an engagement survey,...

Patient positioning aids range from simple gel pads to elaborate table attachments. However, there are certain common denominators you should consider when evaluating these vital products that prevent...

Transferring patients between stretchers and surgical tables presents plenty of challenges for members of the surgical team. Nurses and support staff are at risk of suffering muscular injuries caused by lifting...

Patients who are being prepped for surgery are often nervous and distracted with what’s going on around them. It’s important to ensure they comprehend and correctly confirm what’s noted on consent forms before...

Most people who make a mistake feel embarrassed, but often these experiences can be a valuable learning tool. In fact, sharing what could have gone wrong with colleagues helps them avoid similar missteps. That’s why staff...

Julie Moyle, RN, MSN, remembers the case well, even though it occurred more than 35 years ago. At the start of the AIDS epidemic, she was a surgical nurse at a hospital in...