Editor's Note This cohort study, published by the British Journal of Anesthesia in September 2023, finds that surgical patients who are discharged with prescribed opioids have higher risks of hospital readmission and mortality.  The study looked at data from a territory-wide retrospective cohort of patients in Hong Kong who underwent…

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Editor's Note Researchers for a long time have expressed concern about how time and temperature might contribute to changes that affect the cleaning and sterilization of instruments. However, there have been few studies examining these claims. A September 2023 study in Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology from the Association for the…

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Editor's Note A new study in Journal of Nursing Management, published on September 6, found that when the majority of nursing shifts in mental health and community wards were 12 hours or longer, there was a significant increase in the risk of patient incidents.  Some highlights of the study include:…

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Editor's Note “What happens when two worlds collide?” asked one of the speakers when discussing the combination of the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and the inpatient unit at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. The speakers were Cohen Children's Sharon Goodman, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CPNP, director, pediatric service line; Kristen Martin, MSN,…

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Editor's Note What is a hard stop? “Think about it,” Amy Bethel, MPA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, education coordinator for the OR Business Management Conference, urged this year’s OR Manager Conference attendees. “You all know what a hard stop is, and I know all of you have had hard stops. But…

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Editor’s Note  In this luncheon presentation, OR Manager Conference attendees delved into the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Measure Reporting Program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).  Gina Throneberry, MBA, RN, CASC, CNOR, director of education and clinical affairs at the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), shared which quality…

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Editor's Note Establishing an environment of continuous improvement is crucial to the quality of patient care, speakers told attendees during this Monday afternoon session at the OR Manager Conference. They shared how they improved the quality of care with a performance improvement initiative targeting first case on-time starts (FCOTS). Matthew…

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Editor's Note “The OR is an inherently stressful environment,” Jessica Atkinson, BSN, BSAVS, RN, CNOR, nurse manager, operating room, at Southern Maine Health Care, told attendees on Tuesday morning at the OR Manager Conference. The session delved into how both new and experienced leaders need to recognize and manage disruptive…

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Editor’s Note Katie Boston-Leary, PhD, MBA, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, CCTP, director of nursing programs at the American Nurses Association, spoke about the future of healthcare leaders at the OR Manager Conference on Monday morning. “There’s a concern about leadership in healthcare,” and there is a resistance to change, she noted.…

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Editor's Note Wellness is multidimensional. Wellness is more than just physical help. Wellness also includes mental, environmental, spiritual, social, and emotional considerations. Those are some of the lessons presented in this OR Manager Conference Workshop, “Effectively Coping with Stress—The Case for Wellness Integration,” presented by Kevin Merrigan, founder and director…

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