Editor's Note The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on May 9, issued a new draft recommendation on screening for breast cancer, recommending that all women get screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40. In a statement, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission’s Ambulatory Buzz on April 24 published five precautionary tips for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to implement in order to “respond quickly and effectively” to emergencies during outpatient surgery. They are: Establish a culture of safety. Prior to a surgical procedure, conduct a comprehensive physical examination…

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Editor's Note This update to the 2014 "Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals" recommends that antibiotics be discontinued after a patient’s incision has been closed in the OR, even if drains are present. The expert panel members writing the update add that continuing antibiotics after closure…

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Editor's Note This study, published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, analyzes 68 closed claims cases on wrong-site surgery from 2013 to 2020. The services most frequently responsible for these cases were: Orthopedics (35.3%) Neurosurgery (22.1%) Urology (8.8%). The most common types of procedures involving wrong-site…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), on April 10, announced the release of updated standards for its 3-year Advanced Orthopaedic Certification program, which will take effect July 1, 2023. The updated Certification Handbook for Advanced Orthopaedics, v42, introduces new terminology and standards architecture plus a revised…

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Editor's Note In response to questions, on April 21, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update to its Safety Communication that enables the use of existing inventory of the O&M Halyard FLUIDSHIELD Surgical N95 Respirator Masks, Orange (Regular), Level 3, (Model 46727). The FDA recommends that, if necessary,…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, finds that air flush cycles used in automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) may not adequately dry endoscope channels, particularly narrow air/water channels. Endoscopes were reprocessed per protocol with a 3-minute or 10-minute air flush following reprocessing.…

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Editor's Note The US State Department will not accept any more applications for green cards for foreign nurses this year, and only applications that were submitted by June 2022 will be processed until the backlog eases, the April 24 Becker’s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control reports. Current green card processing…

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Takeaways Perianesthesia and sterile processing leaders are feeling the pain of staffing shortages. Strategies to recruit and retain staff include raising pay, establishing clinical ladders, training programs, and a positive work environment. A 2022 study found that Certified Post Anesthesia nurses are more satisfied with their jobs than noncertified nurses.…

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The role of a nurse leader in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) can take many forms depending on the ASC’s size, structure, and governing environment. Larger ASCs can support a number of leaders and roles. Factors that influence this number are whether the ASC is part of a network, the…

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