Editor's Note Wrapping up the 2025 OR Manager Conference with high energy, humor, and some fundamental truths about human interactions inside and outside the workplace, Monica Wofford, CSP, leadership consultant, Contagious Companies, shared tried and true strategies that work well to curb difficult behaviors and make difficult people have less…

Read More

Editor's Note MD Anderson is hardwiring career mobility so staff can see, test, and pursue growth without leaving the division. According to this session’s panel—including Abigail Caudle, MD, MHCM, FACS, vice president of procedural and therapeutic medical operations; Robert Ghafar, MBA, RTT, vice president of procedural and therapeutic operations; and…

Read More

Editor's Note Hold everyone to the same standard, model the behavior you expect, and build trust through transparency—that is how OR leaders retain nurses and improve performance, according to this session’s panel that included Taneka Curtis, MHA, BSN, RN, CNOR, nurse manager-cardiac, transplant and vascular service lines, Hospital of the…

Read More

Editor's Note Lock in system-level wins fast. The 2025 OR Manager Conference is right around the corner (October 28–30 in Anaheim, California), and it is loaded with how-to sessions that turn ideas into throughput, revenue, and workforce results you can bring home in Q4. This year’s agenda centers on pragmatic,…

Read More

Editor’s Note: This page is a companion piece to the main article, Surgeon-turned-coach on reclaiming joy, purpose in healthcare: Countdown to the 2025 OR Manager Conference.   Neha Amin, DO, FACS, NBC-HWC, will be attending this year’s OR Manager Conference for the first time. OR Manager talked to her about her…

Read More

Burnout continues to threaten the perioperative workforce, pushing many leaders out of clinical practice altogether. Neha Amin, DO, FACS, NBC-HWC, a double-board certified surgeon specializing in burns, knows the toll burnout can take on healthcare professionals, having faced it personally. After navigating her own burnout experience, she founded a coaching…

Read More

Editor's Note Most newly licensed nurses require about 12 months before they can practice autonomously, a HealthLeaders September 8 analysis reports. The article highlights findings from a recent National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) study of 200 nurses, 74% of whom reported that a full year was necessary…

Read More

Healthcare has never been static, but today’s perioperative leaders face a unique challenge: steering teams through volatility, complexity, and rapid disruption. In a recent OR Manager webinar, Phyllis Quinlan, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, executive coach, nurse entrepreneur, and longtime advocate for caregiver resilience, offered a candid roadmap for change management in…

Read More

When Phyllis Quinlan, PhD, RN, NPD‑BC, founded MFW Consultants in 1994, she was already on her third career pivot. The former social‑work intern turned emergency‑trauma nurse discovered that the high-stakes of the emergency department (ED), coupled with her human‑behavior insights from sociology and psychology degrees, gave her a rare vantage point on how…

Read More

Takeaways Meeting people where they are is a basic principle of staff development. Coaching and mentoring are fundamental to employee development, but new managers should understand the difference. Resources for staff development include education, certification, clinical ladders, committee work, and professional networking. Transitioning to leadership involves many competing pressures, but…

Read More