Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in December to a seasonally adjusted 16,687,700 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on January 6. That’s up 54,700 since November. Hospital employment also was up by 15,700 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for December was 3.5%, for a…

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Editor's Note Metaverse company, Ubitus K.K., will help Smart Surgery Technology roll out Sim Surgery – a VR surgery simulation application, reports January 5 Healthcare Purchasing News. Sim Surgery will be an affordable and more available solution addressing the growing need for medical students and physicians to gain ample surgical…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, finds that a liberal preoperative fasting policy allowing adults scheduled for general anesthesia to drink clear fluids until arrival in the OR was associated with reduced fasting duration and improved patient well-being with regard…

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Editor's Note Five more healthcare systems are launching or expanding nursing programs, the January 4 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Penn medicine, Philadelphia, partnered with the Howley Foundation and La Salle University to launch the ASPIRE Program at the University of Pennsylvania, which allows high school juniors to begin training to…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of California, San Francisco, finds that patient access to elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase was limited by disparities based on age, language, marital status, insurance, socioeconomic status, and distance from care. Among the findings: The number of patients with…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced January 4 that Northside Hospital, Atlanta, is the first in the country to receive Maternal Levels of Care Verification and the first in the state to receive a Level IV Maternal Center Designation from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Georgia is one of…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, finds that postoperative opioid prescriptions written by advanced practice clinicians (APCs), defined as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, had higher total dosages compared with those written by surgeons. A total of 628,197 surgical procedures involving 581,387 adults…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…

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Editor's Note Workplace violence is a current obstacle nurses and healthcare workers face every day, reports December 29 Becker's Hospital Review.  In response, Healthcare communities have urged Congress to pass legislation to diminish any violent threats or attacks on hospital workers. Statistics on workplace violence against nurses, based on data…

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Editor's Note This study led by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates, St Paul, Minnesota, found visible damage and residue or debris in 100% of 25 processed flexible endoscopes, using a new visual inspection program that included magnification and borescopes. Fully processed endoscopes were examined twice during a 2-month…

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