Editor's Note This study from The Wharton School, Philadelphia, and Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, examines changes in unemployment among healthcare workers (HCWs) from January 2015 to April 2022. The researchers found that: Prepandemic, 2.28% of HCWs and 3.82% of non-HCWs reported being unemployed. During the pandemic, 3.18% of…

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Editor's Note Four more schools and hospitals have recently started nursing programs and partnerships or plan to do so to address the nationwide nursing shortage, the September 15 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. West Virginia University, Morgantown, is expanding its nursing program to Beckley, West Virginia, and opened a new campus…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 15 identified Baxter Healthcare Corporation’s recall of its ClearLink Basic Solution Set with Duovent as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk for leaks that may expose providers and patients to hazardous toxic substances…

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Editor's Note ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) announced September 14 that they are joining the World Health Organization and healthcare leaders around the world in celebrating World Patient Safety Day on September 17, 2022. The slogan for this year’s campaign is “Medication without Harm.” In support…

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Editor's Note The recently revised “Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes” recommends that flexible endoscopes be stored in drying cabinets, the September 14 Periop Today reports. The explanation for this new recommendation includes: Optimal storage facilitates drying and decreases the potential for contamination. Studies on drying cabinets, which circulate HEPA-filtered air…

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Editor's Note In this study from Brazil, researchers find that olfactory dysfunction (ie, reduced or distorted ability to smell during sniffing or eating) in patients with long COVID-19 may persist for more than 1 year and may become permanent. Of 219 patients (164 [74.9%] women) with long COVID-19 and neurologic…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 7 released sentinel event data for the first 6 months of 2022. Of 832 events reviewed this year from January 1 to June 30, the top 10 most frequently reported were: Falls—199 Unintended retention of foreign objects—30 Suicides—26 Delays in treatment—25 Wrong surgery—19…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccines are strongly associated with preventing serious illness. Analyzing data from 192,509 hospitalizations in 250 US hospitals: monthly COVID-19 associated hospitalization rates ranged from 3.5 to 17.7 times higher in unvaccinated…

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Editor's Note Some travel nurses are choosing to leave nursing instead of returning to their former hospital jobs “as demand for travel nurses comes back down from unprecedented highs during the pandemic,” Becker’s Hospital Review September 6 reports. According to Becker’s, there were about 50,000 travel nurses in the US…

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Editor's Note Any leadership position in a modern perioperative leadership department requires a nurse who is skilled at making business decisions that promote patient and staff safety and quality care. The skill set is always evolving and requires constant reforming and fine tuning. This job involves not only leadership and…

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