All patients and members of the perioperative team deserve to be protected from the byproducts of surgical smoke and the potential complications that can follow. The decision about whether to evacuate surgical smoke is often left up to the surgeon’s discretion. But consistently using smoke evacuation equipment in the perioperative environment creates a safer environment for all.

As more elective procedures are shifting to ambulatory surgery and endoscopy centers, these facilities are tasked with reprocessing an increasing volume of reusable medical devices, while adhering to the same regulations and standards as larger healthcare facilities. This program discusses how to meet these challenges and ensure devices are properly cleaned and disinfected.

Ultrasound probes are used in nearly all departments in clinical settings including point of care situations such as the bedside and remote clinics. This continuing education covers best practices to prevent the transmission of infection.

Ultrasound probes are used in nearly all departments in clinical settings including point of care situations such as the bedside and remote clinics. This continuing education covers best practices to prevent the transmission of infection.

According to governing and recommending entities, frequent monitoring and timely feedback provides the best information to help drive and improve outcomes. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of various compliance monitoring methods, and implementing the most compatible method, can assist organizations with acquiring sustained improvement.

This continuing education activity will review the significance of irrigation fluid management, including the clinical care implications related to the use of irrigation fluid throughout the patient’s perioperative journey. The clinical team members’ roles related to irrigation fluid management will be outlined and the complications associated with the use of irrigation during a procedure will be reviewed.

This continuing education activity will address the role of environmental contamination in the transmission of HAIs, describe the latest research on environmental hygiene in the operating room (OR), and list the monitoring methods available to objectively evaluate environmental hygiene. Process improvement methods and new technologies such as self-disinfecting surfaces and “no touch” area cleaners utilizing ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and hydrogen peroxide vapor will be described.

Healthcare professionals will become familiar with evidence-based approaches for safe fluid waste management and disposal. They should also take an active role in incorporating safe fluid waste management in policies, procedures, and staff educational activities to reduce exposure to fluid waste across the healthcare setting.

This continuing education activity will describe observable symptoms of burnout, contributing factors, and opportunities to enhance resilience and prevent burnout. In addition, myths, facts, and recent events related to clinician burnout, will be explored.

This program provides an overview of strategies to prevent CAUTIs, including appropriate indications for insertion of indwelling urinary catheters (IUC), alternatives to indwelling catheters, insertion and maintenance bundles, and antimicrobial stewardship measures.

The operating room has traditionally been one of the highest revenue generators for healthcare organizations. This continuing education activity will provide the perioperative nurse with information on ways to improve inventory management in the operating room. It will review the challenges and opportunities associated with effective supply management, and provide specific strategies on product standardization, inventory management and reduction, reduction of waste, data analysis, and improved physician preference card management.

This ebook reviews sterility assurance with a focus on packaging. It includes a brief overview of the impact of surgical site infections, key criteria for the appropriate selection and use of packaging materials, types of sterilization wraps, and the various professional guidelines for best practices related to packaging.

This continuing education activity provides a brief overview of the clinical impact and economic burden of SSIs today. The key characteristics of sterilization wrap materials that help reduce the risk for SSIs, with a focus on nonwoven double layer sterilization wrap, including test data that should be obtained from the manufacturer, will be reviewed.

The purpose of this continuing education activity is to provide a review of the clinical considerations regarding the appropriate selection and use of facial protection devices in healthcare practice settings. It provides an overview of the health hazards inherent to the general healthcare and perioperative environment, criteria for appropriate selection and use of facial protection devices, and relevant regulations and recommendations for manufacture and use.

Apheresis is a procedure with significant physiologic outcomes, so the care of TA patients requires knowledge and skill of leading practices and innovative devices. This educational activity discusses the rationale for TA procedures and the nursing considerations in the delivery of apheresis care. Access methods will be reviewed along with the risks and adverse events associated with vascular access procedures.

Early mobilization is a key component for optimizing patient outcomes in the ICU. A standardized progressive mobility protocol provides an outline to develop and implement evidence-based interventions that will improve patient mobilization safely and effectively.

This program traces the evolution of methods of surgical hemostasis, reviews the risk factors for perioperative bleeding, highlights the steps in the coagulation cascade, and details the properties, mechanisms of action, components, and safety considerations for several categories of hemostatic, sealant, and adhesive agents.

This program identifies concerns currently associated with intraoperative transfusion and describes effective PBM strategies, including the use of topical hemostatic agents. The importance of using a validated intraoperative bleeding scale to assess and compare the efficacy of these agents is emphasized.

Management of bleeding is an important part of any invasive procedure, and a wide variety of topical adjunctive hemostatic agents are available to supplement the surgeon’s application of conventional approaches to this critical outcome. This course begins with a description of the components of whole blood and the natural process of hemostasis, followed by an explanation of where topical hemostats act within this sequence of events.

Learn about how an evidence-based and team-based approach for positioning is needed to ensure a safe surgery. Evidence-based guidance from AORN and other safety sources is outlined in this elearning, including specific safe positioning recommendations for all surgical positions, even high-risk positions such as steep Trendelenburg.