Editor's Note Amid a lack of focus and lack of resources on perioperative mental health, alleviating patient anxiety and preventing poor surgical outcomes requires creative solutions. This is the central argument of a May 12 commentary in The Conversation by Renée El-Gabalawy, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the…

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Editor's Note Preadmission clinics (PACs) are supporting perioperative care by reducing complications, shortening hospital stays, and improving surgical outcomes—particularly for high-risk patients. As detailed in the April 2025 edition of ASA Monitor from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), PACs operate as multidisciplinary outpatient hubs where medical optimization, risk assessment,…

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Editor's Note Nearly 140,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022, and 40% of the remaining workforce plans to exit by 2029, according to the 2024 National Nursing Workforce Study from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). According to an April 17 announcement from NCSBN, the survey…

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Editor's Note Pulse oximeters may overestimate blood oxygen levels in critically ill patients with darker skin tones, according to a March 30 article in HCP Live. The article focuses on the EquiOx study, conducted at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital between 2022 and 2024. Presented at the American College…

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Editor's Note A study presented at the ASH Annual Meeting 2024 found that the current Caprini score, a widely used model for assessing perioperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk, underestimates risk in Black patients while overestimating it in Latino patients. Hematology Advisor reported the news January 6. According to the article,…

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Editor's Note Survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and continue to reflect racial disparities, according to a preliminary study set for presentation at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2024. Analyzing data from over half a million U.S. adults who experienced OHCA between…

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Editor's Note A new meta-analysis of 85 studies reveals a significant association between nurse burnout and negative outcomes in patient safety, satisfaction, and care quality. The findings underscore the impact of burnout—characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment—on healthcare performance globally, with implications for organizational and policy interventions,…

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Editor's Note Although women are underrepresented in high-compensation medical specialties, new research shows a significant increase in female applicants and matriculants to surgical specialties specifically. Published September 30 in JAMA Network, the study found that the proportion of women entering high-compensation surgical specialties rose from 28.8% to 42.4%. In contrast,…

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Editor's Note An algorithm developed by researchers at Duke University Medical Centre is designed to assist patients diagnosed with intermediate-stage liver cancer in making decisions about surgery, according to an October 9 report in News Medical Life Sciences. Known as the Modified Metroticket, this tool predicts overall survival and recurrence-free…

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Editor's Note The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced nearly $75 million in funding to address critical challenges in rural health, including opioid treatment, maternal health care in the South, and supporting the financial stability of rural…

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