New study highlights need for better face masks, good ventilation
Editor's Note A new experimental study by engineering researchers in the Fluid Mechanics Research Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, finds that most cloth and disposable masks (3-ply cotton and 3-ply blue pseudo-surgical masks) filter only 10% of exhaled aerosol droplets because of fit. The remaining aerosols are…
FDA grants full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on August 23 announced that it had approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, known as Pfizer-BioNTech. The vaccine will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 in those 16 years of age and older. The vaccine will continue to be available…
CDC: New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations among vaccinated, unvaccinated New York adults
Editor's Note This study by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that from May 3 to July 25, 2021, there were 1,271 new COVID-19 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated adults in New York, compared with 7,308 among unvaccinated adults. Hospitalization rates declined through the week of…
ANA survey: Nurses support COVID-19 vaccinations, mandates, boosters
Editor's Note Data from a new survey of more than 4,500 nurses conducted by the American Nurses Association (ANA) in conjunction with the Johnson & Johnson-sponsored “COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses” campaign finds that about 90% are vaccinated against COVID-19 or plan to be vaccinated. Other findings from the survey…
Penicillin allergy associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, finds that patients who had a penicillin allergy carried a higher risk for negative outcomes with COVID-19 than those without the allergy. This analysis included 13,183 adults with COVID-19 and a penicillin allergy and 13,183…
Louisiana Department of Health asks military for 6,000 nurses
Editor's Note The Louisiana Department of Health has requested 6,000 military nurses to help handle increasing patient volumes in the state because of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the August 17 k945.com reports. The report also notes that: 95% of all COVID-19 cases in Louisiana are due to the Delta…
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 leaders’ 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 the 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: “[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.” Part of…