Sterile Processing Department (SPD) managers and technicians know a thing or two about pressure. In a recent webinar covering sterile processing basics, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, Inc, and Abby Smart, MPH, research associate, cited the example of a 480-bed hospital that performed 13,650…

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Takeaways The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated staffing problems, and although some parameters have improved, challenges remain. Surgical volume took a sharp drop during the pandemic but is now rebounding. Over the years, the gap in difficulty between recruiting RNs and recruiting STs has narrowed. Last month, OR Manager looked back on…

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Editor's Note Children's Healthcare of Atlanta aims has an unusual strategy for addressing the healthcare worker shortage: providing a pipeline for parents who want to rejoin the workforce.  Officially known as “MomForce,” this pipeline of fresh talent launched in 2013. As reported in Becker’s Hospital Review January 5, the number…

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Editor's Note Healthcare employment in the US rose by 70,300 from January to February, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released on February 2. That is compared to an overall monthly gain of 353,000 in January—similar to the 333,000 gained in December—for a total of…

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Editor's Note What are some key components of effective leadership? Understanding the complexity of team dynamics, displaying emotional intelligence—especially in difficult situations, and embracing socialization. Lieutenant Colonel Shari Bowen, assistant professor, department of behavioral sciences and leadership, at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, broke down these…

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Editor's Note “How many of you are still struggling with staffing?” Tammy Straub, MSN, RN, APRN, CNOR, administrator of perioperative services at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, asked attendees of this session. Everyone in the room raised their hands. Straub and Alexandre Warman, MBA, CEBA, administrator of perioperative business…

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The US Food and Drug Administration receives more than 100,000 medication-related reports, and some of them, according to the AORN Journal, “involve patient death.” AORN’s 2024 updated guidelines include safety updates for perioperative staff when handling, transporting, and administering medication, which can be a complex process prone to errors. In…

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Editor's Note Healthcare employment in the US rose by 37,700 from December 2023 to January 2024, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on January 5. Overall, employment rose by 2.7 million in 2023 (an average monthly gain of 225,000), which is less than the…

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Staff recruitment and retention is the top priority of OR leaders going into 2024, according to a November/December survey conducted by LeanTaaS in collaboration with OR Manager. Out of 84 respondents (some skipped), while 76% chose staff recruitment and retention, both improving operational efficiency (65%) and sustaining volume (36%) also…

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Whitman Partners, a firm that specializes in director of surgical services recruitment, emerged out of the 2008 financial crisis as an example of adaptability and resilience in healthcare staffing. Today, the firm places close to 200 OR directors annually in hospitals across the US. OR Manager sat down with Josiah…

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