When asked about the importance of a personalized approach to post-op pain control, Mike MacKinnon, DNP, FNP-C, CRNA, immediately launches into a story about a patient...

Victoria Hornbeck, RN, BSN, CNOR, was recently put in charge of reimagining the between-case cleaning of orthopedic operating rooms at Northside Hospital Forsyth in...

Many surgeons put very little forethought into wound care. The thought process is that when the procedure ends, the important work is done, so dealing with closing the...

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more about proper instrument care than Linda Gomes. The former surgical tech used to work in the sterile processing...

More than one million joint replacements are performed each year and increasing numbers of surgeons are opting to do them with the benefit of robotic assistance...

The reprocessing of flexible endoscopes involves dozens of steps that must be performed correctly every time by staff members who follow an airtight scope handling...

Essential oils are a growing adjunct therapy used to bolster the effectiveness of traditional antiemetics for PONV. A disposable tab containing a combination of ...

Surgery centers are highly dependent on anesthesia services to run productive and dynamic surgical businesses, but maintaining working relationships with quality provider groups has never been more challenging....

Your staff must know how to immediately respond if a patient’s airway catches fire, surgical equipment starts to spark or flames erupt in the sterile field. It’s helpful to designate specific roles for each surgical team member...

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already seen the well-deserving winners of the 2021 OR Excellence Awards. Because the editors of this fine publication didn’t feel the need to solicit input from their backpage banterer...

Great ideas for your OR

The 2022 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System proposed by CMS is filled with changes that are more curious than cause for serious concern. CMS, which ultimately intends to slow...

Many of you have learned, implemented, tweaked and documented new cleaning practices and infection control protocols — measures that seemingly changed from week to week — to keep your patients and staff safe...

Surgeons at Houston Premier Surgery Center in The Villages sign surgical sites in pre-op and huddle with the surgical team in the OR to make sure they signed the correct spot. It’s often a straightforward process, but orthopedic...

When linens were in short supply during COVID-19, staff at Houston Physicians’ Hospital (HPH) struggled to procure enough cotton blankets to keep their patients warm. When they reached out to vendors to try to obtain more...

Many patients at Einstein Endoscopy Center in Blue Bell, Pa., leave behind the no-slip socks they’re provided. “The socks are used only for a couple of hours, and we used to throw them away, but, at the suggestion of a patient,...

SeeSee Rigney is something else. I’ve followed the twilight of her surgical nursing career that has spanned seven decades through online articles and features on national...

Reprocessing techs at outpatient ophthalmic facilities don’t often deal with grossly contaminated instruments, so it helps to alert them when tools are in need of extra attention before sterilization. “Enzymatic detergents...

Asking patients to follow strict NPO restrictions is no longer commonplace — and for good reason. Allowing patients to drink clear fluids up to two hours before their scheduled procedures keeps them hydrated, reduces...

Reading about a wide range of topics and people helps to build awareness about the importance of cultural diversity, says Crystal N. Johnson-Mann, MD, an assistant professor of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery...