Editor's Note More CEOs are considering rural emergency hospital (REH) designation, according to a February 12 article in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. In January 2023, REH was established as a new Medicare provider type to enable struggling rural hospitals to continue operating with outpatient and emergency services only, instead of…
After spending many years in management roles, I can testify to the truth of one old proverb: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Patient privacy is a prime example. Confusion on this topic seems just as rampant today as in the early 2000s, amid the widespread…
Takeaways Research shows that there are high nurse burnout rates from systemic workplace issues, including unmanageable case-loads, poor communication, excessive administrative burdens and an overall lack of care. Nurse wellness programs—including resilience training, peer-to-peer counseling, and meditation—are critical, because of high exposure to trauma and suffering, but these efforts need…
Takeaways The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated staffing problems, and although some parameters have improved, challenges remain. Surgical volume took a sharp drop during the pandemic but is now rebounding. Over the years, the gap in difficulty between recruiting RNs and recruiting STs has narrowed. Last month, OR Manager looked back on…
The Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) is excited to announce a new development in our certified perioperative nurse (CNOR®) certification program: the introduction of specialty designations. Now, perioperative nurses can specialize in cardiac, bariatric, orthopedic, or vascular surgery, just as RNs can choose oncology, pediatrics, or emergency. A specialty designation…
Sterile Processing Department (SPD) managers and technicians know a thing or two about pressure. In a recent webinar covering sterile processing basics, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, Inc, and Abby Smart, MPH, research associate, cited the example of a 480-bed hospital that performed 13,650…
Editor's Note A week after a walkout of junior doctors in South Korea halted about a third of surgeries at large hospitals in Seoul, the government is threatening prosecution and the revocation of medical licenses if the walkout doesn’t end by February 29. As reported by the Associated Press February…
RNs are projected to see the highest increase in pay over the next 10 years compared to other healthcare professionals, new research reveals. The research by TollFreeForwarding.com projected the future hourly earnings of 16 professions, including doctors, dentists, and RNs. Although all three professions project to see earnings increases over the…
Editor's Note Although RN employment dropped significantly during the past few years, updated workforce forecasts with numbers similar to those projected prior to the pandemic indicate that the decline was likely temporary. Jama Health Forum published the data February 16. For the study, researchers pulled data on registered nurses aged…
Editor's Note Amid a nationwide shortage of anesthesiologists straining many healthcare systems, new data from the Kaiser Family Foundation offers a state-by-state comparison of the number of anesthesiologists per physician. As of January 2024, the data reveal that Indiana leads states with the most anesthesiologists per physician at 13.12% (1,211…