Editor's Note More than 900 New York nurses, who studied at the seven Florida-based nursing schools that were shut down for allegedly selling fraudulent degrees, were given 14 days to prove their credentials or surrender their licenses, the February 21 Times Union reports. Another 2,400 New York students, who were…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 22, announced that it had approved new and revised requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals in the Patient Blood Management certification program. The program is a voluntary 2-year certification based on the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies Standards for…
The OR department is often what keeps most hospitals afloat. Surgical services account for roughly 50% of a hospital’s revenue, but they also contribute approximately 60% to overall costs. ORs must be efficient. Successes and failures in the surgical suite affects the entire system. Healthcare systems have found that highly…
Float teams have been a staple of nurse-staffing plans for many years, but they have not been widely used in the operating room. Utah Valley Hospital, a Level II trauma center in Provo, Utah, and part of the Intermountain Healthcare system, has been developing float teams for nearly 2 decades.…
Much has been written about bullying, lateral violence, cultures of safety, and a healthy work environment. However, little has been written to address the escalation of violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) coming not only from peers but also patients and visitors. Violence against HCWs has increased significantly. A 2022 report…
When Ayumi Fielden, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CPAN, worked as a preceptor in a PACU nurse residency program for new graduate nurses, she realized quickly that something was missing. “The graduate nurses struggled because they were not yet comfortable with basic nursing skills, such as assessments and giving medications. They also…
The headlines are attention grabbing: hospitals forced to pay millions of dollars after employees were found to have stolen opioids and other controlled substances. After being discovered and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the agents uncovered a number of issues: poor record-keeping, inventory, tracking, and other failures that…
Editor's Note Those who experience anxiety and depression months after a mild case of COVID-19 may have brain changes that affect its function and structure, finds a study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in April. The study, by researchers at the University of…
Editor's Note The Texas Board of Nursing has charged 23 nurses with “fraudulently obtaining educational credentials” as part of a national scheme involving thousands of fraudulent nursing degrees, the February 20 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The nursing students paid thousands of dollars to the individuals running the scheme and are…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 16 identified the recall by Philips Respironics of certain reworked Trilogy 100, Trilogy 200, and Garbin Plus ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the potential for silicone foam adhesive failure and residual polyester-based…