Survey: COVID-19 pandemic takes toll on staffing
Responses to the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey indicate that OR leaders continue to face significant challenges as a result of COVID-19. The survey results come at a time when the buffeting waves of the pandemic are receding for some leaders, leaving them on the shoreline of a post-pandemic world.…
Educate to mitigate workplace violence in healthcare--Part 2
Protecting healthcare staff from physical and verbal abuse has always been a part of nurse leadersโ responsibilities, but the increase in workplace violence (WPV) since the start of COVID-19 has made that even more challenging than in the past. In the first article of this two-part series, OR Manager looked…
Editorial
The need for registered nurses nationwide is expected to grow 7% by 2029 to 3.3 million workers, according to theย American Association of Colleges of Nursing, which projects 175,900 openings for new nurses each year. Filling those openings is an increasing challenge for perioperative nurse leaders. The annual OR Manager Salary/Career…
Retaining nurses in a post-pandemic era--Part 1
The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic run deep in the nursing profession. As one respondent to the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey noted: โ[The pandemic has] caused healthcare workers to rethink the reason they went into this profession. Also the fact that we could die doing our jobs.โ Part of…
Supportive system synergizes presurgical patient optimization
The better a patientโs overall health prior to undergoing surgery, the more likely a good surgical outcome. Research has demonstrated the benefits of prehabilitation and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocols, and many healthcare facilities have embedded such practices into their surgical patient care pathways. At UPMC Central Pennsylvania Region in…
Survey: ASC leaders continue to feel pandemic pain
Staff turnover and open positions have increased in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) during the past year, according to the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey, indicating the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. About half (49%) of ASC leaders reported increased RN turnover (more than double the 24% in 2020), and…
Maintaining a productive OR as cases shift to ASCs
The migration of surgical procedures from hospital ORs to hospital-owned ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is picking up speed. According to a recent survey, three-quarters of larger hospitals now have an ownership stake in more than one ASC. Two-thirds of US health systems are currently planning to increase their ASC investment.…
Impact of COVID-19 on emergency adult surgical patients, surgical services
Editor's Note This international multicenter study led by UK researchers finds that the first wave of COVID-19 significantly impacted surgical patients in peak monthsโdirectly by comorbid infections and indirectly by increasing mortality, irrespective of COVID-19 status. In this analysis of 3,176 emergency adult surgical patients from 18 countries (between March…
1,850 US hospitals now mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for HCWs
Editor's Note American Hospital Association statistics show that 1,850 US hospitals, or nearly 30%, have now announced COVID-19 vaccination mandates for their healthcare workers (HCWs), the August 17 Beckerโs Hospital Review reports. Several states, including California, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Main, also are requiring HCWs to get vaccinated.…
Effect of vaccine type, prior COVID-19 infection on symptoms, antibodies after HCW vaccination
Editor's Note This study by Johns Hopkins researchers finds that regardless of vaccine reaction or prior COVID-19 infection, both mRNA vaccines provide a robust antibody response in healthcare workers (HCWs). Questionnaires and serum samples were collected from 954 HCWs at 14 or more days after their second doses of either…