Editor's Note This South Korean study finds that fully vaccinated individuals have a shorter duration of viable viral shedding and a lower rate of secondary transmission than partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals. This study uses 2 cohorts to separately determine the transmissibility of COVID-19 according to vaccination status (ie, fully…

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Editor's Note This study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, finds that non-hospitalized COVID-19 “long-haulers” continue to experience symptoms an average of 15 months after disease onset. Of 52 patients who completed the study, there was no significant change in the frequency of most symptoms between the first…

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Editor's Note On May 9, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia signed into law SB573, which requires the evacuation of smoke during plume-producing surgical procedures. The law states: “Each hospital and ambulatory surgical center shall adopt policies for the reduction of human exposure to surgical smoke.” Brenda Ulmer, MN, RN, CNOR,…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, finds a low prevalence of COVID-19 in symptom-free healthcare workers (HCWs) working in the Minneapolis-St Paul area. In the 14 days before enrollment in the study, 40% of participants reported a known COVID-19 exposure. PPE use was…

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Editor's Note Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, on May 23, issued an Advisory highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) and the urgent need to address HCW burnout across the country. Among the Advisory’s recommendations: Transforming workplace cultures to empower HCWs and be responsive to their…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, finds that from the second (November 2020 to February 2021) through the third periods (July to October 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic, declines in mortality for various racial, ethnic, and gender combinations were especially large for those…

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All leaders at some point in their careers should find ways to reward and recognize their staff. But what most leaders fail to grasp is, the heart behind the reward is immediately apparent and matters almost as much as the reward itself. Stuart Downs, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, FACHE,…

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COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on nurses and other frontline healthcare workers. Just about everyone has been affected by shortages of basic supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), syringes, and IV tubing, and staffing issues are even more concerning, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead…

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Staffing and labor costs have been consuming the thoughts of managers at all levels of leadership. Since the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated work conditions and safety concerns, healthcare leaders have had to deal with an unprecedented number of resignations and increased turnover with the rise of travel nursing. Calls for greater…

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Concerns about the pipeline of OR nurses existed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has heightened these concerns. Many nurses plan to exit the profession in the next few years (sidebar, Workforce outlook). Unfortunately, the pipeline of replacement nurses is nearly dry as student experiences in the OR have been…

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