Editor's Note Researchers led by Florida A&M University and Florida State University in Tallahassee propose multi-learner virtual reality (VR) environments assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) as effective alternatives to facility-based training for nontechnical skills. As failure to communicate is cited as the reason for 22% of preventable complications in the…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, finds that nonoperative management of acute appendicitis was associated with reduced complications in older but not younger patients. Included in the analysis was data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Inpatient Sample on 474,845 patients with…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 5, posted a clarification on the time frame for querying the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Among the revisions: Medical Staff (MS) Standard MS.06.01.07, Element of Performance (EP) 9 and Standard MS.07.01.01, EP 3, on the time frame to evaluate a licensed practitioner’s…

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Editor's Note On April 3, Penn Highlands Healthcare, DuBois, announced its new “Return to Work” Nursing Residency program for nurses who have taken an extended leave from their nursing careers, but want to return to work. Residency students participate in 5 weeks of courses that begin with didactics and progress…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 4, released its Sentinel Event Data 2022 Annual Review, which covered serious adverse events from January 1 through December 31, 2022. There were 1,441 sentinel events reported in 2022, a 19% increase over 2021, and a 78% increase over 2020, with COVID-19 continuing…

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Editor's Note A new meQuilibrium Self Check survey finds that good managers are pivotal to retaining employees in the face of rising rates of workplace incivility, the March 29 HealthLeaders Media reports. Of 5,483 employees surveyed, the most common forms of incivility identified were: Being ignored (26.1%) Having one’s judgment…

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Editor's Note This investigation by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of eight cases of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) infections in a Kentucky hospital after total joint replacement procedures found that the presence of a particular OR nurse was significantly associated with the…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), on March 29, issued a news report urging the public to learn to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved naloxone for sale over the counter. Naloxone, which is commonly sold as a…

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Takeaways Perioperative staffing issues are likely to continue throughout 2023 because of rising case volumes and a lack of experienced staff. Travelers are expected to remain a core part of staffing. Perioperative leaders are using multiple strategies to recruit and retain staff, including float pools for health systems that have…

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Congratulations. You have worked hard to master your skills in the sterile processing department (SPD). You have prepared, been interviewed, and finally been promoted to a leadership position. Now, what? Yesterday you were working as a peer in your department, and now you are the leader. Are you prepared for…

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