Letters & E-mails

Nursing Schools Must Do Their Part
Re: "Young Nurses and the Death Spiral" (April, page 6). The nursing schools have let our young people down by not having them get a rotation through the OR. Also the curriculum in nursing schools is not preparing them for the real world of nursing. It is sad that you can go to 4 years of nursing school and not be able to function in just the basic nursing issues.

Name withheld upon request

Curbing Unnecessary Surgical Breast Biopsies
Re: "Breast Biopsy Study Says Surgery Performed Too Often" (www.outpatientsurgery.net/news). The American Society of Breast Surgeons agrees that a rate of 30% for open surgical biopsies is totally unacceptable. Our goal is for all surgeons to routinely use needle biopsy for diagnosing breast problems. This will minimize the number of unnecessary surgical biopsies, as well as reduce healthcare costs. Surgeons as well as radiologists should be united in the goal of performing quality, minimally invasive, cost-effective procedures. Until that goal is a reality, this quality issue deserves continued scrutiny from the media.

Eric B. Whitacre, MD
American Society of Breast Surgeons
Columbia, Md.
[email protected]

Does Your Crash Cart Have Waveform Capnography?
Re: "The Patient Codes ... Now What?" (April, Manager's Guide to Medication Management, page 15). To comply with the American Heart Association's new Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines, crash carts must be fitted with waveform capnography in order to determine appropriate endotracheal tube placement and spontaneous return of circulation, 2 critical aspects of patient care during a code.

Michael Murray, MD
Oridion Capnography
[email protected]

Corrections & Clarifications
Re: "Surgical Clippers For a Clean, Close Surgical Site" (March, page 77). Use a water-based lubricant to slick back unremoved hair away from a head or neck surgery site, not petroleum jelly, which is flammable and may present a fire risk during surgery.

Re: "A Refresher Course on Terminal Cleaning" (April, page 64). Terminal cleaning of all ORs and procedure rooms should be performed at the completion of each day's surgery schedule during the regular work week. It is not necessary to perform terminal cleaning when the facility is closed (for example, on weekends).

Re: "Sure-Fire Ways to Prevent Medication Errors" (April, Manager's Guide to Medica-tion Management, page 6). Before putting meds onto the surgical field, verify that the surgeon ordered them. Don't assume what's listed on preference cards is correct.