Safety 
Lynn Webb, PhD, assistant dean of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, shared an anecdote about unprofessional behavior with attendees of the recent OR Business Management Conference in San Antonio, Texas. A nurse reported that a surgeon was performing a transverse colon resection, and at the appropriate point, they…
In 2021, Patient Safety in Surgery published the article, “Incidence and OR team awareness of near-miss and retained surgical sharps: A national survey on United States operating rooms,” from a nationwide survey with over 400 surgeons, anesthesiologists, OR nurses and surgical technologists on the frequency of lost and retained sharps.…
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has been accrediting ambulatory healthcare facilities, including ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), for more than 40 years, with some 6,100 accredited organizations. A top philosophy of AAAHC is “1095 Strong,” which emphasizes the importance of integrating quality practices throughout a facility’s 1,095 days…
She is the person who says, “Show me the evidence,” says Brigid Gillespie, PhD, BHlth Sc (Hons), RN, a conjoint professor of Patient Safety in Nursing at the Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith School of Nursing and Midwifery in Queensland, Australia. Gillespie spoke to OR Manager about the role…
After a journey of more than 20 years, validity and reliability studies for the Munro Pressure Injury Risk Assessment Scale for Perioperative Patients (Munro Scale) show that the Munro Scale works. The Munro Scale, created by Cassendra A. Munro, PhD, MSN, RN, RNFA, CNOR, is the first standard tool that…
Generating student interest in the OR can help OR leaders fill staffing gaps. For example, Debra Sparks, MSM, BSN, RN, CNOR, director of regional perioperative services for The Metro Health System in Cleveland, Ohio, has hired nurses who spent time in the organization as part of their university-based OR coursework…
May 2022 saw a critical shortage of the iodinated contrast medium (ICM) iohexol that extended well into June because of a COVID-19-related shutdown of a GE Healthcare plant in Shanghai, China, that interrupted the manufacture of ICM. According to the American College of Radiology, contrast media were added to the…
When a natural disaster strikes—whether flood, tornado, hurricane, or wildfire—nearly every aspect of a healthcare system’s operations are impacted. There is an influx of patients in crisis and a spike in calls for emergency services. There are logistical problems—impassable roads, power outages, and communication and internet breakdowns. Supply chain disruptions…
COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on nurses and other frontline healthcare workers. Just about everyone has been affected by shortages of basic supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), syringes, and IV tubing, and staffing issues are even more concerning, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead…
Staffing and labor costs have been consuming the thoughts of managers at all levels of leadership. Since the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated work conditions and safety concerns, healthcare leaders have had to deal with an unprecedented number of resignations and increased turnover with the rise of travel nursing. Calls for greater…
