Both lead and lead-free garments are designed to shield the body from x-rays, particularly the vital organs and reproductive areas, which are more sensitive to radiation.

Maintaining normothermia during the perioperative period is an essential part of patient care and is a quality objective per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) merit-based incentive payment system, yet, hypothermia remains a common occurrence, occurring in 50-70% of patients undergoing general anesthesia.

One of the best perks of working in the OR is the team. Everyone knows their job and does it well. But what do you do when someone refuses to be a team player? Here are three tips (and one absolutely essential skill) to deal with inhibitory attitudes in the OR.

Entering unfamiliar surgical procedures as an orientee or recently trained nurse can be daunting. Utilize the preference card as a resource to alleviate fears and position yourself to anticipate the needs of the surgical team.

Caring for patients through their surgical journey is a big job—families and loved ones trust us and believe that evidence-based care will be delivered. So, speak up and continue to ask questions until you have the knowledge you need to take care of the patients under your watch.

One nurse describes her years as a new nurse, the bullying she faced, and how she overcame the challenges she experienced to thrive as a perioperative nurse.

Ask any perioperative nurse, and they will tell you about a personal experience (or two) with a medical device failure. Therefore, knowing how to prevent and handle medical device errors is critical.

This article will provide some tips to help you navigate The Joint Commission onsite visits with ease and confidence.

Many of our habits and techniques in patient care stem from one intent: to prevent harm to our patients. There is one tool that you likely do not utilize to its fullest potential to optimize your patients’ safety. The way in which we use our words significantly impacts our patients’ risks for sentinel events.

Family members of patients in perioperative settings should be included during key moments of communication, such as teaching moments (e.g., preoperative discussions) and data collection (e.g., discussing medications and allergies).

This article will help you identify the types of people to surround yourself with as part of building a personal advisory board.

In the perioperative setting, procedures like dilation and curettage are not just medical routines but deeply personal journeys for the patients involved.

Communication is one key component of providing safe care for patients and building trust among team members.

Get at a glance at the steps to perform a vaginal prep.

Here are three tips to be more effective when communicating a message in the perioperative setting.

Learn about important components of cataract extraction, such as patient assessment, positioning, surgical prep, needed supplies, and more.

AORN advocates for a systems approach to prevent RSIs, including standardized counting and reconciliation procedures, methodical wound exploration, radiologic confirmation, adjunct technology, and teamwork training.

For novice perioperative nurses, adjusting to the demands and expectations of the OR can be a daunting task. This article explores five ways that a novice perioperative nurse can excel in surgery and establish themselves as a respected and trusted member of the OR team.

Perioperative personnel rely on team members from other departments and services, such as radiology, laboratory, environmental services, nutrition services, medical records, and respiratory services, to provide specific patient-centered care needs.

Learn four steps that you can take to effectively develop an assertive attitude that will allow you to be the advocate that you need to be in the OR—both for your patients and for your team members.

One nurse describes her years as a new nurse, the bullying she faced, and how she overcame the challenges she experienced to thrive as a perioperative nurse.

Codes are very stressful and emotional situations for everyone involved. Regardless of the outcome, sometimes you must keep going with your day.

During your perioperative career, it is likely that you will encounter many situations that will challenge your surgical conscience.

As a perioperative nurse, you can mentally put yourself into a situation and think, “What would I have done?”

Take care of yourself when going through loss: participate in debriefs, talk with a friend or therapist, take a break, and learn what you can to keep growing.

One nurse talks about advocating for a patient on his family's behalf.

Homework involves collecting the correct supplies and instruments for a case, knowing the basics of the type of surgery to be performed, and preparing for the “what ifs.”

Take some time to reflect and discover what it is that motivates you. Dig deep and find your purpose. And answer this question for yourself, “Why do I work in the OR?”

One nurse shares her journey to becoming a perioperative nurse.

A fire risk assessment should be done prior to the start of every case, and the fire risk should be discussed with the entire surgical team during the time out.

Margaret Vance, MSN, RN, CNOR, NPD-BC, shares a story about the time she accidentally disengaged a custom-made graft during an endovascular aneurysm repair.

A message of encouragement and support for novice perioperative nurses.

A message of encouragement and support for novice perioperative nurses.

One way to increase the feeling of purpose is to find your ikigai, or your why.

The perseverance and commitment to duty of the Black Angels highlights them as trailblazers that paved the way for African American nurses and leaders.

Nurses are familiar with Florence Nightingale, but how many are familiar with the Black nurses who helped cure tuberculosis in New York City in the 1930s?

Self-care is an essential, but often neglected, element of the transition to perioperative practice.

Test your general perioperative knowledge with this crossword puzzle.

Test your knowledge about moderate sedation with this matching game.

Test your general perioperative knowledge with this crossword puzzle.

Surgical bingo is a fun activity that you can play with colleagues, friends, or anyone who loves the wonders of the perioperative environment!

Test your knowledge about sterile technique with this acrostic puzzle.

Test your knowledge of thyroidectomy with this crossword puzzle.

Can you find all words related to laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

Test your knowledge about instrument cleaning with this acrostic puzzle.

Test your knowledge about venous thromboembolism with this crossword puzzle.

Can you find all the clamp types?

Do you have barriers that may be preventing you from acting on your surgical conscience?

Can you guess a word related to the environment of care in six tries?

Test your knowledge of basic surgical instruments.

Find all the words related to preoperative patient skin antisepsis in this word search.

How well do you know recommendations regarding surgical attire? Answer these 10 questions to find out.

Test your knowledge about safe patient handling and movement with this crossword puzzle.

Encoding information for long-term storage is a strategy that we can apply to teaching methodologies. It helps improve information recall and subsequently knowledge transfer for our learners.

This article will describe the VARK learning styles model, identify the characteristics of each learning style, and provide tips so you can support learners using their preferred style.

This article will explore what job aids are, why you should consider using them, and how you can create them.

How can you keep motivation high to engage learners in continuous improvement? One way to increase learning engagement is through fun, games, and competition.

Education on preparing for patient deaths, including the processes and the caring practices, will prepare nurses to provide the most compassionate care possible.

Three ways educators can set themselves and their learners up for success are by creating a supportive learning environment, influencing goal setting, and establishing value.

The preceptor fills many roles: coach, leader, influencer, facilitator, evaluator, socializer, protector, role model, and most importantly – educator.

One way to increase participation during a staff in-service or small group meeting is to incorporate gaming as a method of educational delivery.

Some of the skills perioperative nurses need to support their patients cannot be taught in a classroom, making the relationship between nurse preceptor and preceptee vital.

This article provides an example of how an annual competency for preoperative patient skin antisepsis was created and proctored in a series of steps.

This article reviews the stages of the competence model and describes the process of skill mastery.

One of the key factors that contributed to my success as a new OR nurse was the well-organized and well-appointed orientation by the nurse educator.

It is important for preceptors to develop strong communication skills that facilitate novice nurse development.

The preceptor may perform many roles to support other nurses, but there are four primary roles that create successful preceptor relationships.

How to use that colorful ball next to the shovel, rake, and other sand toys currently sitting unused in your garage to review important topics and encourage team participation.

Learn how to organize your next escape room.

At the foundation of any clinical relationship is trust: trust between clinicians and patients, trust among the interprofessional team members, and trust between a new hire and the preceptor.