Editor's Note Every year, Perioperative Nurse Week focuses attention on the work of more than 160,000 nurses who advocate for surgical patients. During the week, perioperative nurses are honored by colleagues and communities to highlight the ways in which nurses are working to improve patient safety−before, during, and after…

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Editor's Note Clinical Advice Service (CAS), a nurse-run telephone triage service for after-hour calls, developed at the Stanford University School of Medicine, provides well-coordinated care to neurosurgery patients while reducing physician workload, this study finds. Between July 2016 and June 2017, CAS nurses received 1,021 after-hours calls from neurosurgery patients.…

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Editor's Note Eliminating opioids from general anesthesia is safe and effective and significantly decreases postoperative nausea, finds this study presented October 23 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston. Of 1,009 patients who received general anesthesia without opioids, only 11% experienced postoperative nausea--typically 50% to 80% of patients have…

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About 8 years ago, Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland had a policy that required visitors to wait in the surgery waiting room at least 3 hours before being allowed to visit their loved ones. The postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurse was not expected to communicate with the family while…

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Editor's Note The combined influence of stress perception and perceived coping abilities affect the health and work performance of nurses, this study finds. Of 120 nurses surveyed, in general: 92% had moderate-to-very high stress levels 78% slept less than 8 hours per night 69% did not exercise regularly 63% consumed…

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Editor's Note A well-structured water distribution and documentation process helped bariatric surgery patients drink more water and improve postoperative outcomes, finds this study presented July 23 at the 2017 American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference. The average baseline water intake for 12 patients was 381.5 mL during a…

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Editor's Note Surgical ICU patients boarding in alternative ICUs because of overcrowding are often seen at the end of rounds, receive fewer face-to-face assessments from physicians, and are given less bedside attention by ICU provider teams, this study finds. The researchers found that: caregivers spent about 16% less time on…

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Keeping a close eye on implants that are opened and not used is one way OR leaders can track practices that add significantly to costs. But what about blood products? Blood taken to the OR and not used also can be costly. Although an individual unit of blood doesn't compare…

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Perioperative services is a key driver for financial performance, and efficient use of space and staffing is vital in the current era of declining reimbursement. A bottleneck in any of the three phases of surgery—pre-, intra-, and postoperative—can result in long delays as well as surgeon, anesthesiologist, and staff anxiety…

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Editor's Note National Nurses Week is May 6-12, with May 12 celebrated as International Nurses Day in honor of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. This year’s theme is “Nursing: The Balance of Mind, Body, and…

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