Editor's Note An August 6 report in MedPage Today details how the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is pushing to end the practice of using live animals for physiology training. According to the article, some surgical residencies use live animals (usually pigs) as practice patients. In contrast, only 3%…

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Competency assessment in perioperative nursing—and American healthcare in general—is a story of unrealized potential. Particularly in the wake of the pandemic, staffing shortfalls and financial pressures have made focusing on staff development difficult for nurse leaders. Nonetheless, the argument for investing more in professional development and competency has never been…

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Takeaways Meeting people where they are is a basic principle of staff development. Coaching and mentoring are fundamental to employee development, but new managers should understand the difference. Resources for staff development include education, certification, clinical ladders, committee work, and professional networking. Transitioning to leadership involves many competing pressures, but…

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Editor's Note Special rates for a subscription to OR Manager and passes to the 2024 OR Manager Conference are available through the end of this week. Initially unveiled to celebrate Nurses Week May 6-10, both offers now expire May 17 at midnight. As a premium subscriber to OR Manager, you’ll…

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Editor's Note A health system in Colorado is benefitting handsomely from Opportunity Now Colorado, a state grant program designed to provide a growing workforce with a variety of new job opportunities. Intermountain Health, which announced the $1.9 million seed grant in an April 25 press release, will reportedly use the…

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Editor's Note The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted De Novo authorization for marketing MMI North America Inc.’s Symani Surgical System, according to the agency’s April 9 roundup. The system employs a motion scaling function to scale down surgeons movements for procedures requiring small instruments and/or microscopes, such…

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Editor's Note Collaboration between Johnson & Johnson and Nvidia could soon enable surgeons to automate documentation by using artificial intelligence (AI) to scan video of procedures. CNBC reported the news March 18. Surgical video scans are just one possible application of the collaboration, with the report noting that “J&J’s MedTech…

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Editor's Note Successful use of augmented reality in a cardiac ablation procedure holds additional promise for training as well as more advanced OR applications, according to a February 29 report from Stanford Medicine. During ablation, a treatment for heart arrythmias, surgeons typically refer to as many as eight screens depicting…

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Editor's Note The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on October 26 announced a new cybersecurity-focused toolkit with resources for healthcare organizations and the public health sector. The two agencies have been working with the Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) Cybersecurity…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) of Deerfield, Illinois, has released its revamped Ambulatory Surgery Considerations for Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Toolkit, ASC Focus October 2023 reports. The new toolkit provides updated guidelines on how healthcare providers can ensure that patients with obesity and/or obstructive…

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