Editor's Note To lead others, managers must first know how to lead themselves, writes Laurie Ruettimann in the November 17 laurieruettimann.com. Leadership is only possible after managers know what they stand for, where they come from, what they intend to do, and how they actually act, Ruettimann says. Self-leadership is…

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When you have a problem, are you empowered to solve it? What happens when staff encounter an obstacle? Cleveland Clinic’s Tiered Huddle process empowers all caregivers to see problems and tackle issues on their own or escalate them for assistance. The tiered huddles have energized teams to work across the…

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Retaining well-performing staff reduces the amount of resources, particularly time and money, that OR leaders need to spend on recruiting and training new employees. Part 1 of this two-part series provided an overview of retention issues and discussed the importance of the leader’s role and a positive work culture (OR…

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Editor's Note Incorporating medical scribes into surgical practices to reduce time surgeons spend on patient documentation and managing electronic health records increases the number of patients seen by surgeons and residents in outpatient clinics, finds this study presented October 29 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in…

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Editor's Note Half of general surgery residents experience workplace mistreatment at least a few times a year, which greatly raises their risk of burnout and suicidal thoughts, finds a national survey that was presented October 28 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco. Survey responses…

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Editor's Note A state-mandated policy restricting opioid prescriptions in Vermont greatly reduced opioid prescribing and use by surgical patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center without affecting patient satisfaction with their postoperative pain management, finds this study presented October 29 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 29 announced a new “Quick Safety 51: Proactive prevention of maternal death from maternal hemorrhage,” which provides background information on strategies outlined in a new maternal hemorrhage standard. The new Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services (PC) standard, "PC.06.01.01: Reduce the likelihood of…

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Editor's Note In this study, machine learning algorithms accurately identified cancer patients who were at risk of 6-month mortality. Of 26,525 cancer patients analyzed, machine learning models based on structured electronic health record data accurately predicted short-term mortality risk with good discrimination and positive predictive value. When the gradient boosting…

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Editor's Note An Enhanced Recovery Pathway (ERP) created by the Mayo Clinic’s colorectal surgery service a decade ago has now been adopted by other surgical services in seven medical centers that are members of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, the October 15 Harvard Business Review reports. The ability of each…

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Editor's Note Clinician burnout is affecting between one-third and one-half of nurses and physicians and 40% to 60% of medical students and residents, according to a new consensus report by 32 institutions and foundations, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Among the ways to fight burnout discussed in the…

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