Protecting patient safety in the OR is everyone’s business. No single group should shoulder the full responsibility for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In addition to infection preventionists, epidemiologists, and environmental services personnel, it is the duty of everyone involved in patient care to provide an optimal clean and aseptic surgical…

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Nurse leaders know that a successful workplace fosters and celebrates teamwork. In the OR, teamwork among surgeons, surgical technologists, circulating nurses, anesthesiologists, and first assistants, to name a few, is critical to ensure patient safety and positive outcomes. And teamwork does not have to be reserved for inside the surgical…

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Editor's Note Disrupted sleep rhythms because of the daylight saving time change can throw people off schedule, leading to cumulative sleep loss, the March 9 npr.org reports. Studies have shown there is a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, automobile accidents, workplace injuries, and mental health issues…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, finds that total hip arthroplasty (THA) performed with a cementless prosthesis for a femoral neck fracture led to a higher rate of a second fracture and revision surgery. The multicenter analysis included 709 THAs…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 8 announced that it has approved new and revised requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals certified under the Patient Blood Management Certification program, effective July 1. The requirements have been updated to maintain alignment with the Association for the Advancement of Blood…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver, finds an association between a communication and optimal resolution (CANDOR) program and increases in most measures of healthcare professional satisfaction. CANDOR is used when a patient experiences an unexpected adverse outcome. The analysis included survey data from…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on March 7 announced that the Chicago Cubs were the first Major League Baseball team to install (ACS) STOP THE BLEED kits. The team worked with Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications Safe Chicago Program to install the kits and train…

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Editor's Note A Medscape survey of more than 9,100 physicians across 29 specialties finds that 75% were happy outside of work before the COVID-19 pandemic, and that dropped to 58% after the pandemic, the March 7 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The survey, which looks at physicians’ mental health, happiness with…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 1 announced a revision to Performance Improvement (PI) standard PI:01.01.01, Element of Performance (EP) 4, which has to do with data collection on significant discrepancies between preoperative and postoperative diagnoses. The revision was made after healthcare organizations expressed confusion with the requirement. The…

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Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic finds that despite calls for the expansion of outpatient surgery to mitigate the growing backlog of surgical cases during COVID-19, the transition of general surgery procedures from inpatient to outpatient settings occurred in only a small subset of procedures. This cohort study…

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