Outpatient Surgery Magazine Archive

There’s a great deal of attention paid to the importance of optimizing the nutritional status of patients before surgery and doing away with NPO requirements to prepare them for the stress of invasive procedures...

Throughout the course of a day, certain instruments require special attention or need to be fast-tracked through the reprocessing cycle and returned to the ORs as soon as possible. Attaching a green plastic placard...

Pressure injury prevention isn’t just about using the right positioning aids. It’s an ever-continuing process of monitoring, documentation, education, investigation, risk assessment and process improvement. A dedicated, interdisciplinary team...

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common and costly of all healthcare complications, yet as many as half are considered preventable. While costs of treating SSIs vary widely based on the degree of infection...

About 45 minutes before surgery, Joseph Nessler, MD, will stop by pre-op to mark the correct surgical site of his total joint patients. He’ll say hello, note his initials where he intends to cut and ask if the patient has any last-minute questions....

Surgeons are often compared to elite competitive athletes, but perhaps professional dancer is more appropriate — at least when it comes understanding the ergonomic and musculoskeletal issues physicians face throughout their careers....

My hospital’s sterile processing department is responsible for turning around 1,500 instrument trays a day. Our surgeons specialize in a variety of orthopedic procedures, including total joints and spine, so our reprocessing techs...

Some time ago, an experiment was designed to get patients to be more active during their post-surgical recoveries by using pedometers. Everyone in the controlled study was given their weekly pedometer data, but half were given...

Last month, AORN’s staff gathered at its Denver headquarters for an organizational enterprise meeting. We caught up with colleagues outside of our screens and met others for the first time in person. It was an energizing....

Megan Muñoz is finishing up nursing school at Chamberlain University outside of Chicago. She just completed her clinical rotation and will graduate with her BSN in September. Unlike many nursing students, however, Ms. Muñoz is ready to...