Editor's Note This Australian study compares the accuracy of monitoring personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing between an artificial intelligent (AI) machine collaborating with a remote buddy support system and an onsite buddy. The researchers conducted a pilot simulation study with 30 procedural scenarios (15 donning and 15 doffing)…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 24, announced that it was eliminating the term licensed independent practitioner from its Ambulatory Health Care and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs, beginning August 27. The revisions are consistent with terminology used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Conditions for Coverage and…

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Editor's Note According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percent of employment growth from 2021 and projected to 2031 for nursing and operating room-related occupations include: Nurse practitioners—45.7% Physician assistants—27.6% Nurse anesthetists—11.8% Nurse midwives—7.5% Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses—6.3% Registered nurses—6.2% Surgical technologists—5.9% Nursing assistants—4.7 Surgeons—3.4% Anesthesiologists—1.1%.

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Editor's Note This Israeli study finds that antibody levels were associated with protection against infection with the COVID-19 Omicron variant in vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs). Participants included 2,310 HCWs who had received 3 or 4 doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The odds of infection and substantial symptomatic disease caused…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners, on May 20, launched the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) to prevent and detect infectious disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics. The network provides a platform for helping countries and regions improve systems for collecting and analyzing samples,…

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Editor's Note This pilot study by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and colleagues finds that a new borescope training model improves sterile processing department (SPD) personnel mastery and retention of complex skills. A total of nine certified SPD personnel were involved in the study. Training focused on borescope visual inspection…

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Editor's Note The healthcare industry is the second highest attracting new graduates with bachelor’s degrees, according to the new 2023 Linkedin’s Guide to Kickstarting Your Career, the May 22 Linkedin News reports. The top five industries new graduates are considering, include: Professional services—software engineer, accountant, legal assistant Healthcare—registered nurse, medical…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 22, identified the recall by ICU Medical of replacement batteries for its Plum 360, Plum A+, and Plum A+3 infusions systems as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because a manufacturing defect substantially diminished how long the…

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Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic finds that perioperative COVID-19 precautions did not significantly reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). The analysis included 29,904 patients who had colorectal, hysterectomy, hip, and knee prosthesis procedures at the Mayo Clinic’s multicenter institution between January 1, 2018 and December…

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Editor's Note ECRI, on May 18, announced the winners of its annual 2023 Alerts Impact Award. The Award is given to members of ECRI’s Alerts Workflow system for excellence in recall management. The system’s software is used by supply chain, clinical engineering, IT, pharmacy, lab, clinical departments, and ancillary-care points…

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