August 2021

The pandemic caused an abrupt shift in the work and social lives of Americans, who found themselves quarantined at home and forced to interact with colleagues and...

The pandemic forced surgical professionals across the country to come up with innovative ways to communicate with their socially distanced patients, and many turned...

Joseph A. Caprini, MD, FACS, RVT, DFSVS, is succinct in explaining why you must make DVT prevention a priority. “The leading cause of death after surgery or hospitalization...

The FDA announced earlier this year it was investigating the cause of 450 infections in patients who had undergone procedures involving urological endoscopes. The cases, ...

Two years ago, our orthopedic surgery center launched a comprehensive total joints program. We built two ORs and added 150 instrument trays, but couldn’t expand the...

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, landmark legislation that was intended to eliminate the sharps injuries that continue...

Laminar air flow in an operating room is carefully designed to prevent airborne contaminants from reaching the sterile field. However, even the most perfectly...

Test your knowledge about potential hazards — and how to eliminate them.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Erin Donohue, BSN, RN, CCRN, and Allie Toczylowski, BSN, RN, CCRN, drew chalk artwork throughout the staff parking garages of the Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. They wrote...

Avoid using medication containers with barcodes imprinted horizontally on rounded surfaces because they could result in scanning failures that compromise patient safety, warns the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)....

Surgical apps provide surgical teams with instant access to a wealth of useful information, points out Adela Cuel, RN, CNOR, an OR nurse in Kingston, Tenn. She says the following apps can be purchased for around $1,...

A popular form of entertainment is a great way to boost your staff’s engagement in infection prevention training. “We decided to turn an entire education session into a zombie-themed escape room with an emphasis on...

Patients don’t always pay attention to discharge information while they’re recovering in post-op or remember what they were told after they leave the facility. The written instructions they receive are often mixed in...

In the winter of 1984, Bruce Springsteen had recorded most of the songs that would appear on his iconic album Born in the U.S.A., but his manager said the record still lacked a clear hit single. Angry and frustrated, Bruce headed...

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: The Power of Mentorship; Advising underrepresented providers creates a culture of inclusion.

if you’re still doing most of your coding, billing and collections in-house and rely on traditional spreadsheets to track metrics that assess your facility’s performance, I feel your pain. That was the situation when I became director...

Finding the right fit in a surgical video monitor is not like going to Best Buy to size up the latest TVs. It demands looking beyond the quality of the images or screen sizes. It’s also about the ability to connect cameras and other...

Great ideas for your OR

Outpatient surgery is often compared to aviation because both industries use checklists and crew resource management to avoid catastrophe. Airlines and surgery centers also rely on tight schedules to keep daily operations running,...