Rest break practices of 12-hour shift nurses
Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, finds that rest break practices of 12-hour shift nurses are of poor quality. Survey data from 806 nurses were analyzed. Key findings include: Most nurses did not take regular rest breaks. Breaks were often interrupted, spent…
VAD implant requirement reinstated
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 26, announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement to count the volume of ventricular assist device (VAD) implants by surgeons will be reinstated on May 11. CMS stopped this requirement during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Association of COVID-19 infection, vaccination with Bell's palsy
Editor's Note This meta-analysis by researchers from Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran; Harvard Medical School, Boston; and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, finds a greater risk for Bell's palsy with COVID-19 infection, compared with COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 50 studies were included in the analysis with…
CMS updates enforcement process for hospital price transparency
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on April 26, announced updates to the enforcement process for its hospital price transparency rule. CMS will now automatically impose a civil monetary penalty if hospitals do not submit a corrective action plan on time or complete it within 45 days.…
Closed claims analysis identifies wrong-site surgery risks
Editor's Note This study, published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, analyzes 68 closed claims cases on wrong-site surgery from 2013 to 2020. The services most frequently responsible for these cases were: Orthopedics (35.3%) Neurosurgery (22.1%) Urology (8.8%). The most common types of procedures involving wrong-site…
US News releases 2023-2024 top graduate nursing programs
Editor's Note The US News & World Report, on April 25, released its lists of best nursing schools for masterโs and doctoral degrees. Emory University in Atlanta is the top school for a masterโs degree, followed by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The…
AAAHC updates Certification Handbook for Advanced Orthopaedics
Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), on April 10, announced the release of updated standards for its 3-year Advanced Orthopaedic Certification program, which will take effect July 1, 2023. The updated Certification Handbook for Advanced Orthopaedics, v42, introduces new terminology and standards architecture plus a revised…
Reducing fatigue, errors during night shifts
Editor's Note This Canadian study finds that nurses who received 40 minutes of bright light exposure before their night shifts had reduced fatigue and committed fewer errors at work. Researchers at the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, enlisted 57 nurses who were on a rotating schedule of both day and…
ACS: COVID-19 will disrupt cancer reporting for years
Editor's Note New research from the American College of Surgeons and American Cancer Society describes ways the National Cancer Database (NCDB) was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the study, researchers reviewed 4,045,097 cancer cases of adults 18 years or older who were diagnosed with cancer and/or received their first-course…
FDA updates Safety Communication on Halyard surgical N95 respirators
Editor's Note In response to questions, on April 21, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update to its Safety Communication that enables the use of existing inventory of the O&M Halyard FLUIDSHIELD Surgical N95 Respirator Masks, Orange (Regular), Level 3, (Model 46727). The FDA recommends that, if necessary,…