Editor's Note This study from the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System finds that intraoperative stress in surgical teams is common and has multiple sources, including adverse events. Researchers conducted 28 interviews with surgical team members on intraoperative stress and emotional and behavioral responses to stressors. The researchers then identified themes in…

Read More

Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, and Hackensack Meridian Health, Edison, New Jersey, finds that a nature-themed recharge room helped reduce healthcare worker (HCW) stress and anxiety. A total of 160 HCWs who used the recharge room and 131 who…

Read More

Editor's Note The Cleveland Clinic announced, on August 16, that surgeons at its London facility successfully performed a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with the assistance of an augmented reality-based platform designed with artificial intelligence and machine learning. Augmented reality, which gives a 3D visualization of the joint, helps with planning…

Read More

Editor's Note According to this annual report from the AMN Healthcare’s Physician Solutions division (formerly known as Merritt Hawkins), titled "2023 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives" and published on July 24, the average "starting salaries for physicians have rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic," an AMN Healthcare August…

Read More

Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham examines the associations between sociodemographic factors and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and clinician adherence to PONV prophylaxis protocols. A total of 8,384 patients were included in the analysis. When PONV prophylaxis protocols…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, examine the feasibility of transitioning back to reusable surgical gowns and the corresponding cost savings and reductions in solid waste. Disposable surgical gowns were replaced with polyester reusable surgical gowns with AAMI level III barrier protection that…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, examines whether the decision to operate or not operate for an emergency general surgery condition affects Black and White patients differently. A total of 556,087 Medicare patients (59,519 Black and 496,568 White) were included in the analysis. Overall, 165,932 (29.8%)…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on August 17, identified the recall by Abiomed of the labeling for its Impella RP Flex with Smart Assist System Catheter as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the catheters’ instructions for use did not appropriately address precautions…

Read More

ASC leaders continue to see increased surgical volumes but are finding it difficult to staff their centers, according to the 2023 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than half (56%) of respondents reported increased volume in the past 12 months, the same as last year. Yet the ability to recruit new…

Read More

Editor's Note This recent study published in early 2023 by the Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons highlights that the total number of benign hysterectomies being performed in the US has decreased, with vaginal hysterectomies declining by 19% over 2 years. Only 12% of hysterectomies for benign…

Read More