Most patients are nervous before surgery, especially now when family members and loved ones are unable to wait with them due to COVID-19 restrictions. That's why we tap into the calming effects of aromatherapy. We hand out...

We purchased four rolling desks that are used in our pre-op/PACU area. Staff like the adjustable surface, which lets them sit or stand while working. Each desk has plenty of storage space and a shelf where staff often keep...

We send patients home with blue neck pillows made from memory foam for ergonomic support and personalized handwritten notes from their surgeons. Some patients have lengthy drives awaiting them after surgery,...

Patients who undergo surgery on their birthdays definitely deserve special treatment, so we make a point to scan the case schedule every morning to check if a patient is celebrating a life milestone. If they are, we surprise them...

With opioid-sparing protocols firmly positioned as the standard for managing post-op pain, surgeons and anesthesiologists have become masters of multimodal analgesia, perfectly combining a little bit of this with...

Patients were already a bit nervous when they would arrive for their endoscopies or colonoscopies, and we noticed that sitting in the waiting room watching the news would often stress them out more. We thought, why not get rid...

Retained foreign objects were the most frequently reported adverse event between 2015 and 2017, according to The Joint Commission. We decided to tackle this issue head on by developing a custom count board...

CMS requires surgery centers to have infection preventionists on staff. Some facilities assign providers to the role simply to fulfil the requirement, but infection prevention has taken on a greater significance during...

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A few months ago, I operated on a patient with severe nasal polyps —a condition that caused significant discomfort and breathing issues. These polyps were recurrent from...

You're on mute." Yeah, I'm that guy on Microsoft Teams. You'd think that after nine months of remote meetings I'd remember to toggle on my mic when it's my turn to speak....

No surgeon wakes up in the morning with the intention of performing a wrong-site surgery and yet these types of never events continue to happen, even with protocols...

To help our surgeons find their patients quickly and easily in recovery, we hung a series of color-coded flags on the wall outside each bay. The series of flags are screwed into the wall, allowing us to flip one out as needed....

Many surgical professionals learn best by doing. If you bombard them with information about what to do in the event of a malignant hyperthermia (MH) emergency, but don't...

Healthcare professionals are expected to practice cultural humility and provide patient-centered care to diverse individuals who have different cultural backgrounds than their...

If you want to reduce foot traffic in operating rooms — traffic that can lead to increased surgical site infections, distractions, airflow disturbances and decreased efficiency — slide a Do Not Enter sign in laminated holders...

Like most surgical leaders, you're probably eager to put 2020 in the rearview mirror and start fresh with next year's initiatives and goals. The problem is, so many surgical staffs...

The events of 2020 have changed our nation forever. The struggles and stresses of the past year will also fuel change within surgery, which is poised to become safer,...

The Oregon Clinic Gastroenterology East at Gateway in Portland ?shut down in March for nearly two months when the pandemic's initial wave hit the west coast hard....

Leadership at our facility believes in hiring the best people possible — then letting them do their jobs. To make this happen, we don't employ traditional pecking orders or a typical hierarchical structure. Medical reps talk...