- Survey finds staffing patterns stable but positions hard to fill
- Early action advisable to prepare for new alarm safety standards
- Editorial
- OR Manager of the Year embraces golden rule
- Practicing a personal time-out can help to engage you and your team
- A steep price to pay: Fatigue compromises staff and patient safety
- Survey finds continued economic stress for ASCs
- Sterile processing questions and answers
- High labor expenses? Better staffing and scheduling can cut costs
- Turnover rates plummet with Patient Care Intern training program
- Careful screening and scrutiny needed to select ambulatory surgery patients
- Medicare may drop bariatric surgery center certification requirement
Survey finds staffing patterns stable but positions hard to fill
A sluggish economy continues to drive OR staffing, according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Although economic growth in the US has ticked slightly upward, 70% of respondents say the economy affected their OR staffing in the past 6 months, comparable to 68% last year and 69% in…
Early action advisable to prepare for new alarm safety standards
Walk into any patient care unit—whether preoperative, intraoperative, or postoperative—and you will hear numerous alarm signals. Some are signaling a medical necessity, but many are false alarm noises that do not require action. Health care workers can hear several hundred alarm signals per patient per day, which may cause alarm…
Editorial
The economy continues to present staffing and budgetary challenges, our annual staffing survey finds; little has changed since the 2008 recession despite slightly better overall conditions (see cover story). Perioperative leaders report they’ve had to reduce overtime, eliminate open positions, and tell staff to take time off without pay in…
OR Manager of the Year embraces golden rule
Letters nominating Pamela Smith, BSN, RN, CNOR, as the 2013 OR Manager of the Year described her as a leader who has supported her staff and their decisions, an advocate for education, and a clinical manager who “drives quality and efficiency while balancing high patient and staff satisfaction scores.” Smith,…
Practicing a personal time-out can help to engage you and your team
Among the tools and procedures intended to increase efficiencies and reduce errors in the OR are time-outs and checklists, which have become a standard practice during many surgical procedures. Vicki Hess, MS, RN, CSP, believes these same tools can be used to promote engagement and decrease stress among those working…
A steep price to pay: Fatigue compromises staff and patient safety
It’s not uncommon for nurses to work 3 12-hour shifts at 1 hospital and then work another 3 at a different hospital, yet anyone who works 12 hours is putting their patients in jeopardy, Sheryl A. Michelson, MS, RN-BC, said at the AORN Congress in March 2013. “This is not…
Survey finds continued economic stress for ASCs
Although economic difficulties have started to ease in some areas of the US, many ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are still feeling the pinch, according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than one-fourth (28%) of respondents say economic conditions have caused financial difficulties for ASCs primarily because of…
Sterile processing questions and answers
Answers to some of the questions asked at several recent annual meetings, notably AORN, APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology), and IAHCSMM (International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management), are offered by sterilization expert Martha Young. Also included are questions from seminars and webinars she has…
High labor expenses? Better staffing and scheduling can cut costs
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. The OR labor budget usually takes a back seat to supplies and equipment. But labor costs can still create significant spending problems. Many hospital surgery departments use nursing full-time equivalents…
Turnover rates plummet with Patient Care Intern training program
Nurse turnover is a problem that affects the performance and profitability of every health care organization. The cost of a nurse leaving a facility is roughly twice that nurse’s annual salary while a replacement is sought and orientation is completed. In addition, patient care may be compromised because the temporary…
Careful screening and scrutiny needed to select ambulatory surgery patients
The patient, an elderly woman, arrived at Red Rocks Surgery Center in Golden, Colorado, for an ophthalmology procedure. A paraplegic, she was using a scooter chair. Administrator Jane Klinglesmith, BS, RN, CNOR, watched her checking in at the admissions desk and noticed she was on dialysis. As she approached, Klinglesmith…
Medicare may drop bariatric surgery center certification requirement
Supporters of the bariatric surgery facility certification established in 2006 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are anxiously awaiting the agency’s final ruling on whether to reverse that decision. CMS issued a proposed decision memo in June and is expected to make its final ruling by the…
Free Daily News
- Study: AI improves surgical case length predictions
- HHS finalizes rule to expand kidney transplant access
- Study: Rural hospital mergers, acquisitions boost financial stability, care access
- Analyzing outpatient surgery emerging trends as ASC market growth expected at $130B by 2031
- Health systems invest in outpatient care, repurpose hospitals for mental health and rehab
- Study: Non-operative management of pediatric appendicitis cost-effective compared to surgery
- AMA letter expresses opposition to CRNA use of 'nurse anesthesiologist' title
- House report criticizes COVID-19 pandemic response, calls for reform
- Medical device coating could reduce blood clot risks
- FDA pilot program aims to expedite high-risk medical device recall communication