OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 9; September 2011 Nurse residency recommendation Recommendation 3: Implement nurse residency programs. State boards of nursing, accrediting bodies, the federal government, and health care organizations should take actions to support nurses’ completion of a transition-to-practice program (nurse residency) after they have completed a prelicen-sure or…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 9; September 2011 Why more BSN-prepared nurses are needed Though the causal relationship between RNs’ academic degrees and patient outcomes is not conclusive, according to the Future of Nursing report, several studies report a significant association between RN education and outcomes in acute care: At…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 9; September 2011 Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continue to feel the grip of a weak economy, according to results from the 21st annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. They also face changes in the health care landscape, with more consolidation, reduced reimbursement, and more physicians becoming…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 9; September 2011 Economic conditions continue to challenge OR staffing. Though fewer OR directors and managers than in 2009 say they are reducing use of overtime and eliminating open positions, more than two-thirds (69%) say the economy did affect their staffing in the past 6…

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Flexible endoscope reprocessing continues to be a major focus in infection prevention. All of the known cases of pathogen transmission during GI endoscopy have been traced to breaches in accepted cleaning and disinfection guidelines or other infection prevention practices. A revised Multisociety Guideline on Reprocessing Flexible GI Endoscopes, released in…

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OR Manager, Inc, is making an important transition in its successful history with its acquisition by Access Intelligence, LLC, and its Dorland Health Division as of January 2011. For 26 years, OR Manager, Inc, has provided information on management of the surgical suite through its monthly publication, conferences, webinars, and…

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The recession is bringing changes in OR staffing. Managers who have seen elective surgery fall are asking staff to reduce their hours and trying to avoid layoffs. Vacant positions, once hard to fill, are evaporating. Some veteran nurses are postponing retirement. Major elective procedures in orthopedics and spine could decline…

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You know meticulous instrument care and handling can reduce your GI endoscopy repair costs. But did you know that the organization and design of your GI unit can also affect your daily operations as well as your repair costs? Rethinking the layout of your setting is an opportunity to manage…

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Do your hospital disaster drills include natural disasters? What would you do if you lost electricity, steam, and water because of a flood, storm, or other disaster? Do you know about your hospital's physical plant and how it supports perioperative services? St Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, faced these…

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Of all the things that keep health care leaders awake at night, 3 stand out in these tough economic times—money, quality, and manpower. Surgical services leaders who understand these issues and can help their administration address them will be in a strong position to help their organizations survive. Connie Curran,…

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