Fourth in a series on selecting and hiring perioperative nurses and integrating them into the staff. So far, this series on onboarding has taken us from developing selection criteria to making a job offer through the initial phase of employment. The onboarding process for new OR circulators involves 14 steps…

Read More

Third in a series on selecting and hiring perioperative nurses and integrating them into the staff. So far, this series has taken us from developing selection criteria to making a job offer. In the September and October 2010 issues, we looked at the first 9 steps for identifying suitable participants…

Read More

Second in a series on selecting and hiring perioperative nurses and integrating them into the staff. It has become increasingly evident that ORs need to train their own circulators. St Luke's Boise Medical Center in Idaho has developed a 14-step onboarding program that helps to recruit and retain qualified RN…

Read More

As an aging population, a recovering economy, and health care reform bring more patients into the operating room, will there be enough surgeons to care for them? A shortage of 124,000 to 159,000 MDs is projected within 15 years—and about a third of the shortage will be in surgery, according…

Read More

Lehigh Valley Hospital had a problem. "We were losing experienced people," says Tammy Straub, RN, MSN, CNOR, CRNP, administrator of preoperative services, Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) and Health Network, which has 988 beds, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. "Turnover was high, and people were leaving even before orientation was complete," adds Hope…

Read More

Fourth article in a series on performance management. Elements of performance management Job description Initial competencies Orientation Goal setting/ performance planning Competency assessment Coaching, mentoring, and recognition Performance evaluation Self-evaluation Peer evaluation Performance enhancement plan. This article continues to build on the first 3 articles in this series, published in…

Read More

As an OR manager, have you ever asked, "What will I be doing 5 years from now? Will I be doing the same thing I'm doing now?" Your staff may be asking themselves the same questions. No two days for an OR manager are the same. But can the staff…

Read More

The best way to have a surgical facility that serves patients and employees well is to create and nurture a culture of retention, a veteran nurse and management consultant says. Keeping good nurses is the goal, and it requires a careful strategy. Interestingly, money is not the only—not even the…

Read More

Second article in a series on performance management. Elements of performance management Job description Initial competencies Orientation Goal setting/ performance planning Competency assessment Coaching, mentoring, and recognition Performance evaluation Self-evaluation Peer evaluation Performance enhancement plan. This article builds on the first, published in the June OR Manager, which provided an…

Read More

It takes a village to retain a staff. That's true for staff of any age—those over 50 as well as Generation X and Y. If you look at the list of 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers over 50, one of the themes is collegiality—the idea that we're in this…

Read More