Editor's Note President Biden, on April 10, signed a congressional resolution ending the 3-year COVID-19 national emergency a month earlier than expected, but a separate public health emergency will remain in effect until May 11, the April 10 Associated Press reports. The resolution terminates COVID-19 related waivers for federal health…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, finds that nonoperative management of acute appendicitis was associated with reduced complications in older but not younger patients. Included in the analysis was data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Inpatient Sample on 474,845 patients with…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 5, posted a clarification on the time frame for querying the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Among the revisions: Medical Staff (MS) Standard MS.06.01.07, Element of Performance (EP) 9 and Standard MS.07.01.01, EP 3, on the time frame to evaluate a licensed practitioner’s…

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Editor's Note On April 3, Penn Highlands Healthcare, DuBois, announced its new “Return to Work” Nursing Residency program for nurses who have taken an extended leave from their nursing careers, but want to return to work. Residency students participate in 5 weeks of courses that begin with didactics and progress…

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Editor's Note This randomized, controlled study led by researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver, and the Mayo Clinic, finds that 6 months of professional coaching can reduce burnout, improve quality of life, and increase resilience among surgeons. A total of 80 surgeons were included in the analysis. At the…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, found high rates of burnout and intent to leave the job across all healthcare workers (HCWs), including physicians, nurses, support staff, and healthcare teams during COVID-19. A total of 43,026 HCWs from 206…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization on March 30 reported that although there is an overall downward trend in COVID-19 cases and deaths, 21 countries are reporting increases in cases of Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, particularly India. XBB.1.16 has a similar profile to XBB.1.5, which is the dominant strain in the…

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Editor's Note The state of Missouri is the most recent state—out of 11—to propose legislation and/or regulations to curb or cap “price gouging” on travel nursing from healthcare staffing agencies, USA Today March 16 reports. The proposed legislation out of Missouri would reportedly allow for felony charges to be brought…

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Editor's Note This investigation by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of eight cases of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) infections in a Kentucky hospital after total joint replacement procedures found that the presence of a particular OR nurse was significantly associated with the…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), on March 29, issued a news report urging the public to learn to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved naloxone for sale over the counter. Naloxone, which is commonly sold as a…

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