Complex problems do not always require complex solutions. Consider the surgical safety checklist. In 2020, more than a decade after the World Health Organization (WHO) started advocating that every hospital use the checklist, research from PSNET found that more than 90% of ORs in countries with a high human development…

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Editor's Note Substituting lower-wage staff for registered nurses leads to additional patient deaths, the Washington Post reported on June 15. The article focuses on a study published in the journal Medical Care, noting that the new research coincides with a nationwide shortage of RNs and “reports of widespread burnout.” Researchers…

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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…

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Takeaways Although women comprise half the population, they were left out of medical research on major causes of death for both women and men—cancer, heart disease, and stroke—until 1990. Using surgical tools designed by men, for men can impact every aspect of a woman surgeon’s work, from learning new procedures…

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Left sniffling and sneezing after a whirlwind 4 days at my first AORN Global Surgical Conference and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee, I had more on my mind than whether the term “conference-acquired infection (CAI)” was officially part of the medical nomenclature, much less whether any studies had been done. I…

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Takeaways The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated staffing problems, and although some parameters have improved, challenges remain. Surgical volume took a sharp drop during the pandemic but is now rebounding. Over the years, the gap in difficulty between recruiting RNs and recruiting STs has narrowed. Last month, OR Manager looked back on…

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Editor's Note What are some key components of effective leadership? Understanding the complexity of team dynamics, displaying emotional intelligence—especially in difficult situations, and embracing socialization. Lieutenant Colonel Shari Bowen, assistant professor, department of behavioral sciences and leadership, at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, broke down these…

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Healthcare systems worldwide, regardless of their size or market, are facing the same challenge: how to meet the growing demand for qualified staff without straining hospital budgets. According to a report by the American Hospital Association, health systems are experiencing a significant workforce turnover that began in 2016. On average,…

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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…

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Editor's Note In this study led by California's Stanford Health Care, researchers found significant associations of surgical team composition and dynamics with operative efficiency for total hip (THAs) and total knee arthroplasties (TKAs), independent of case complexity. The analysis included 641 total joint arthroplasties (279 THAs and 362 TKAs) performed…

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