There are many steps to manage in the endoscope reprocessing process and missing or rushing through just one can lead to improper high-level disinfection and patient harm. “Endoscopes are very complex and intricate medical devices...

In a world turned upside-down by COVID and dizzying rates of staff turnover, live, team-based training on how to quickly respond to an instance of the rare but potentially fatal phenomenon of malignant hyperthermia (MH) is...

Patient safety should be top of mind at all times, even when high-volume days and high-pressure situations threaten to distract the clinical team from taking the necessary steps to reduce the risk factors that can lead to adverse events....

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common and costly of all healthcare complications, yet as many as half are considered preventable. While costs of treating SSIs vary widely based on the degree of infection...

Surgeons are often compared to elite competitive athletes, but perhaps professional dancer is more appropriate — at least when it comes understanding the ergonomic and musculoskeletal issues physicians face throughout their careers....

Pressure injury prevention isn’t just about using the right positioning aids. It’s an ever-continuing process of monitoring, documentation, education, investigation, risk assessment and process improvement. A dedicated, interdisciplinary team...

It can be difficult to diagnose the signs and symptoms of postoperative delirium in patients. “We knew we had to educate our staff about the condition, but felt that presenting the information with a PowerPoint presentation...

The news cycle is filled with troubling reports of gun violence. Recently, in the span of just three weeks, mass shootings occurred at a supermarket in Buffalo, an elementary school...

The sudden and significant impact of the pandemic put infection preventionists at the forefront of efforts to keep staff and patients safe. Their knowledge and guidance...

Best practices in the high-level disinfection of flexible endoscopes must be prioritized after every one of the estimated 15 million colonoscopies performed each year in the U.S.,...

The proper cleaning and sterilization of microsurgical instruments is an essential part of safe patient care, but its importance can be overlooked by busy surgeons...

Making sure patients are positioned for surgery with safety in mind is a critical part of any procedure. Issues with positioning can make a straightforward surgery...

What is the biggest difference between inpatient and outpatient infection prevention? Generally, there isn’t a playbook for the outpatient setting. If you become an infection preventionist for the inpatient world, there’s online...

No sterile processing department (SPD) manager wants to add another step to the complex and strategically redundant process of sterilizing surgical instruments....

Most surgical professionals are relatively knowledgeable about the best surface cleaning practices, and tried-and-true manual methods remain the best way to...

No matter how hard one tries, the skin simply cannot be made sterile. It can, however, be made surgically clean. Optimizing the skin’s cleanliness prior to surgery is the target that...

When you place patients head down with their stirrup-supported legs reaching skyward at a 30- to 45-degree angle, there is a laundry list of things that could go wrong,...

If you doubt the contention that it can take years — or even decades — for evidence to trickle into clinical practice, look no further than the lack of progress in implementing...

You run UConn Health’s Bioskills Lab. How does the program advance the skills of surgeons in training? It’s a fully operational, six-station lab that allows residents...

There will never be a substitute for the real surgical experience, but the latest virtual reality (VR) modules come close to simulating the sights, sounds and feels of an actual operating room. That’s why facility leaders are turning...