Three new studies on reducing urinary tract infections (UTIs) were reported at the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) conference in July. Researchers identified several process changes that, once implemented, brought down infection rates. Each study and its findings are described below. The S.T.O.P.…
The role of business manager continues to grow in teaching, but not community, hospitals, according to the 2015 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Fewer than a third (29%) of OR leaders report that their hospital has a business manager, and 70% of those managers work in teaching hospitals. Other highlights from…
Reducing room turnover time is a goal in many surgical services departments, and refining the cleaning process is one path to success. Implementing a Lean process improvement at our hospital helped us not only meet but exceed our targets for room cleanliness and cleaning time. A 73% average rate of…
Learning to circulate can be overwhelming and intimidating for new nurses. They may learn two or three different ways to set up a room, on two or three different days, from two or three different preceptors. Having a consistent, systematic way to set up an OR can help relieve the…
Credentialing of physicians and other independent practitioners is facing increased scrutiny from surveyors, professional associations and, in some cases, the public—not necessarily because of compliance failures but because healthcare legislation and technology improvements have made the process a conversation topic. Thus it may be a good time to review the…
Concerted efforts to reduce readmissions have paid off at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. Among its bragging rights since launching an initiative last year: decreased length of stay for colorectal surgery patients and a downward trend in readmissions. To learn how they did it, OR Manager spoke with…
Operation Desert Storm begins. Tim Berners-Lee introduces the web browser. Thelma & Louise light up movie screens. All these events—and many more—happened in 1991, the first year of the annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Twenty-five years later, the survey continues to reflect nationwide trends in OR nurse leaders’ salaries and…
Although most patients spend a brief time in the OR, what happens there significantly impacts a hospital’s 30-day readmission rate. According to a 2015 study in JAMA, complications related to the surgical procedure are the most common cause of readmission after surgery. The researchers analyzed data from the American College…