Recent highly publicized outbreaks of infections linked to improper reprocessing of flexible endoscopes have raised concerns about infection prevention in gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. Because of the headlines, legislatures are hearing from their constituents that they are fearful of being exposed to infections, and legislatures are getting involved. The Society of…

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What do you do when your orientation program isn’t effective in educating and retaining OR staff? Carol Pehotsky, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CPAN, director of peri-operative education at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, found herself in that position 3 years ago. “We blew it all up and started over,” she…

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For the past 3 years, Tanner Health System has conducted “Education Day,” a mandatory perioperative skills course that supplements online courses, in-services, and other types of education. Staff attend the half-day course on a Saturday in early January to learn about complicated high-risk, low-volume, problem-prone procedures as well as new…

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Surgeon concerns about staff competency and high turnover of surgical technologists at Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC), Vail, Colorado, prompted the development of a staffing skills competency matrix. VVMC is a community hospital with 4 rooms in its main OR, 4 rooms in its adjoining surgery center, and 4 rooms…

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