Risk assessment helps prevent falls in ACS patients
Anyone undergoing surgery is at heightened risk of falling, especially during recovery from sedation, and for the most vulnerable patients, a fall can be disabling or even deadly. Falls are among the adverse events monitored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state surveyors. The science of assessing…
Minnesota's adverse event reporting system has led to patient safety improvements
The number of patient falls, wrong-site procedures, and suicides increased slightly in Minnesota during 2012, but pressure ulcers, medication errors, and objects left in patients decreased, according to a recent study of the state’s hospitals and surgery centers. The “Adverse Health Events in Minnesota 2012 Public Report,” released in January…
Safety, cost savings, simplicity back broader use of bloodless surgery
More than 120 centers throughout the US have bloodless surgery programs to serve patients who refuse blood transfusions for religious and other reasons. The practice, which began more than 50 years ago, has evolved through research on blood conservation and new techniques to minimize the need for transfusions. The Joint…
Has your checklist effort stalled? Some advice on how to restart it
Fifth in a series on ten elements of safer surgery. This marks the fifth year since the worldwide roll-out of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. In some hospitals, the checklist has taken root and become a way of life. In others, acceptance is slower. For others,…
Editorial
When the Pentagon decided in January to lift the military’s official ban on women in combat, it wasn’t news to many who have served. But women’s service stretches farther back than I realized—and one group involved nurses. In 1942, during World War II, 99 Army and Navy nurses were swept…
Health care reform and the 'Golden Age' of nursing
Perspectives on health care reform vary widely, and some view it negatively. But Kathleen Sanford, DBA, RN, CENP, FACHE, believes it will provide nursing with new opportunities—along with new challenges. Sanford, senior vice president/chief nursing officer at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Englewood, Colorado, will share her perspective during a general…
'Second victim' rapid-response team helps fellow clinicians recover from trauma
One Friday evening at University of Missouri Health System (MUHS) in Columbia, Missouri, Tony*, an RN with more than 17 years of critical care nursing experience, had a patient die unexpectedly during a routine procedure requiring moderate sedation. That weekend he was emotionally distressed, reliving the event and second-guessing his…
Stryker's Neptune recall raises stakes for compliance
Strict requirements needed to comply with a recall for the Neptune brand of roving suction devices are raising questions and concern for ORs whose facilities continue to use the devices. The recall of the Neptune Waste Management System from Stryker, used to collect and dispose of fluid waste, was initiated…
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Career Center
- Director of Nursing, Behavioral Health - Signet Health Corporation - Coos Bay, OR
- Academic Trauma & Acute Care Surgeon, Worcester, MA - UMass Memorial Health - Worcester, MA
- Vascular Surgery Physician - Fairfield Medical Center - Lancaster, OH
- Orthopedic Surgery PA - Lahey Hospital & Medical Center - Exeter, NH