Outpatient Surgery Magazine Archive

Of the many ways to reuse blue sterilization wrap, here's one you might not have considered: sew a couple sheets together to make a sleeping mat for homeless people...

The Case for a Block Nurse Coordinator; Our regional anesthesia program ran like a well-oiled machine when we put a point person in charge.

It's no great secret that injecting a small amount of 1% lidocaine under the skin just before the venipuncture will make IV starts a painless breeze for both patients and nurses,...

When you turn the page, you'll see a crease across my forehead and a smile across my face. That's how you can tell I just did a robotic-assisted hernia case. The crease is from...

It’s a letter you never want to receive, but it’s increasingly likely these days that your facility might get one. It first appears rather innocuous: A federal or private payer asks you for a sample...

Rather than handing patients a single-use plastic bag to store their belongings, we now give them a reusable blue plastic storage bucket. We have plenty of the 2-feet wide by 4-inches high buckets,...

There's no doubt a surgeon's skill and technique play a crucial role in the performance of arthroscopic surgery. But what's also undeniable is the role technology plays...

Prescription filled? Text. Package delivered? Text. School closing early? Text. Hair appointment reminder? Text. Yes, nowadays we receive a text instead of a phone call...

Julie Greenhalgh, RN, BSN, CNOR, began her career in the OR in 1975. After 42 years of inhaling surgical smoke, her lungs couldn’t take it anymore. She left the OR a couple years ago for the smoke-free sanctuary of office-based surgery...

The No. 1 benefit of rigid containers? That’s easy. They eliminate the punctures and tears of “torn-wrapper” syndrome, which gives you added assurance that your instruments...