ST to RN program speeds nurse orientation and bolsters perioperative workforce
When it comes to filling OR nursing positions, finding candidates who can fit into that environment is one challenge, and getting them up to speed quickly is another. Perioperative nurse leaders and educators at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, have found it worthwhile to invest in their surgical technologists…
Effect of resident involvement in surgery
Editor's Note Resident involvement in surgery is associated with comparable patient morbidity and lower mortality outcomes than procedures without residents, this study finds. The analysis used data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). The findings provide a reassuring answer to patients, attending surgeons,…
Surgical staff tackle CAUTIs with refined techniques
Urinary tract infections are the most common type of healthcare-associated infection reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network. Of urinary tract infections acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are associated with a urinary catheter. With the increased scrutiny of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs)…
Researchers identify ways to reduce UTI rates
Three new studies on reducing urinary tract infections (UTIs) were reported at the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) conference in July. Researchers identified several process changes that, once implemented, brought down infection rates. Each study and its findings are described below. The S.T.O.P.…
Zones establish structure and routine for OR setup
Learning to circulate can be overwhelming and intimidating for new nurses. They may learn two or three different ways to set up a room, on two or three different days, from two or three different preceptors. Having a consistent, systematic way to set up an OR can help relieve the…
Magnet hospitals associated with better patient experience
Editor's Note Magnet recognition is associated with better patient care experiences, which may enhance reimbursement for hospitals, this study finds. Nurse researchers compared 212 Magnet hospitals with 212 non-Magnet hospitals. Patients in Magnet hospitals gave their hospitals higher overall ratings, were more likely to recommend their hospitals, and reported more positive…
Structured OR educational programs shorten orientation period
Successful hiring for the OR depends on ensuring nurses have the right education and clinical skills as well as the right attitude: Are they are willing and able to be team players? OR nurse leaders at Saint Luke’s Health System (SLHS), Kansas City, Missouri, have been revamping their intern and…
Forging a path toward OR nursing education
There is no OR nurse university. Nurses can’t go away to college, pay tuition, and learn to be a perioperative nurse. “Faced with a staffing shortfall, how are we going to deal with this? How are they going to learn and acquire skills needed to work in the OR?” These…
Software orients staff, advances 'rep-less' model
What started out as a software package to train medical device representatives for the OR has evolved into a program to train OR personnel to scrub and support a “rep-less” model. The software, designed by a former perioperative nurse, helps orient staff to new procedures, documents their competency, and streamlines…
Focused competencies give anesthesia technicians a leg up on the efficiency ladder
Demand for anesthesia technicians is on the rise, according to a recent Chicago Tribune headline. The article touts the position as a way to “work in the operating room without going to medical school.” Although this description may be an overreach, it does help raise awareness of the growing and…
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