I remember my first paycheck. It was made on a now-vintage machine, the kind with a hand crank that imprinted the amount: Ten Dollars. That was my starting salary for a week-long summer gig as a kid at my grandfather's...

I've never been so happy to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. As soon as it touched down and ended the year we want to forget, I looked forward and focused on setting some self-care goals....

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,...

Ambulatory surgical facilities have pivoted quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shown clinical teams are able to make a number of changes in short order. In this new world of must-dos, though, we can't lose sight of...

Last year was obviously challenging for our surgery center. The staff was physically and emotionally exhausted from working in one of COVID-19's first national hot spots, and sorely needed the annual holiday dinner...

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...

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...

Running a surgical facility during the pandemic requires wearing many hats while keeping several balls in the air and numerous plates spinning. Norma Bacon, administrator at the New England Surgery Center...

Getting back up and running and returning to a sense of normalcy are phrases that have been thrown around since COVID-19 hit. As elective procedures such as colonoscopies began to ramp back up after last year's nationwide...

OMS's Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, which took effect on Jan. 1, substantially blurs the lines between inpatient and outpatient surgical care, as well as...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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

You can use ultrasound to identify landmarks and assist in the placement of an epidural, but it does not guarantee the catheter will end up in the epidural space. That's why loss-of-resistance training for the gold standard...