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…

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Editor's Note An enhanced recovery pathway (ERP) allowed liver surgery patients to return to normal function sooner than a traditional pathway in this study. Patients on the ERP reported lower immediate postoperative pain scores, fewer complications, and decreased length of stay than those on the traditional pathway. ERP patients also…

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Editor's Note Patient factors explain a large proportion of hospital variation in postoperative patient-reported outcomes, underscoring the importance of risk adjustment, this study finds. Some variation across hospitals remained unexplained, however, suggesting that patient-reported outcomes may be a viable indicator of hospital performance, the authors conclude. There is a growing…

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The key to sustaining quality outcomes is promoting confidence and engagement of surgical teams, says Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, director of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. Dr Ko gave the keynote…

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Editor's Note In this study, the use of a preinduction checklist significantly improved information exchange, knowledge of critical information, and perception of safety in anesthesia teams. A total of 105 teams using the checklist were compared with 100 control teams. The outcome scores for the checklist group vs the controls…

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Editor's Note Development of an anesthesia enhanced recovery pathway (ERP) at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, resulted in a 45% reduction in length of stay in colorectal surgery patients. In addition, patient satisfaction scores improved from the 37th percentile to the 97th percentile. The goals of the ERP were achieving superior…

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Editor's Note A trust-based accountability model that included senior hospital leadership and frontline providers provided an enabling structure to rapidly implement an integrated recovery pathway and quickly improve outcomes, value, and experience of colorectal surgical patients, in this study. The pathway included preoperative education, mechanical bowel preparation with oral antibiotics,…

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Editor's Note When anesthesiologists supervise anesthesia residents and nurse anesthetists, the amount of clinical work (total weekly hours) they perform does not positively correlate with the quality of the supervision they provide, this study finds. The results suggest that anesthesiology department managers should be monitoring (and perhaps reporting) the quality…

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Editor's Note When surgeons listen to their preferred music, they’re more efficient at closing incisions, and their technique improves, this study finds. Researchers asked 15 plastic surgery residents at the University of Texas to perform layered closures on pigs’ feet. Half the resident worked in a silent OR and half…

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Editor's Note Surgical teams at Northwesterm Memorial Hospital in Chicago are decreasing the rate of urinary tract infections by focusing on the use of catheters before and immediately after surgical procedures. A process improvement program reduced the number of UTIs associated with catheters placed in patients in the OR from…

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