Taping a blue line on the floor in the sterile processing department where case carts full of dirty instruments should be lined up keeps them organized and eliminates...

First the bad news: There's no way to eliminate the risk of a lawsuit. As long as you are practicing, the risk exists. The good news: You can manage risk and limit...

It’s not uncommon for staff members in one department to believe they do more or matter more than their colleagues who work in other areas of the facility....

When it comes to keeping patients happy when their case start times are delayed, clear and consistent communication is key. That’s easier said than done. Nurses are always...

It should come as no surprise that most outpatient facilities warm their surgical patients. After all, there's an ever-growing mountain of evidence that says warming...

Looking for a more efficient way to put your OR team’s suggestions into day-to-day practice? First, make it easy for staff to share their process improvement ideas....

Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci robot, which sells for $1.5 to $2 million and costs about $300,000 a year to maintain, continues to dominate abdominal robotic surgery....

Knee replacement specialists can measure twice and cut once with saws and drills and feel pretty confident that the implants they place will align perfectly with the femur...

You’ve no doubt heard the trumpet calls of alarm about the dangers of surgical smoke. That the plume wafting off cauterized tissue contains chemicals and...

The Conduit Interbody Platform from DePuy Synthes is made of bone-mimicking cellular titanium that closely matches the porosity of human bone to facilitate...

Skin prepping is serious business at our facility. So serious, in fact, that the staff who prep patients before surgery wear different colored gowns than the rest of the OR...

Same-day spine is one of surgery’s hottest specialties thanks to several new technologies that are making complex surgeries simpler for surgeons, more accurate...

If your surgeons are asking for near-infrared fluorescence imaging, you might be wondering what the technology is used for and whether it makes sense to add it...

Simple solutions are almost always best. No one will accuse your facility of providing groundbreaking surgical care if you make sure patients clean their skin before...

Our surgery center doesn’t have a cafeteria, so family members who were waiting for their loved ones in surgery used to leave if they wanted a quick bite to eat. When surgeons...

Are you sure your staff is diverting recyclable materials from white bag waste? For 2 weeks I gathered and weighed recycling bags filled during procedures,...

As the ergonomics and injury prevention specialist for 11 hospitals, I was responsible for tracking the causes of the most frequent and severe injuries by department,...

Electrosurgical injuries are estimated to occur in 1 to 2 out of every 1,000 laparoscopic procedures. That doesn't seem like many, but when you consider about 2 million...

The effects of single-shot nerve blocks and oral analgesics wear off soon after patients arrive home, leaving them in a significant amount of discomfort....

I've been blessed to check off another year as an OR nurse. Now is as good a time as any to give thanks for the good fortune and one-of-a-kind experiences...