Individual health insurance coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect a year ago. Whether that has helped or hindered patients is unclear. Similarly, the jury is still out on the ACA’s long-term effects for healthcare providers. A recent report from Moody's Investors Service paints a bleak…

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Projections made about a decade ago told us to expect that the RN workforce would peak at around 2.2 million in 2012 and would then begin to shrink as nurses reached retirement age. Instead, say the authors of a recent Health Affairs report, there were 2.7 million RNs working in…

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Increasing case volume, physician satisfaction, and patient safety are goals every OR leader strives to achieve. The 2014 OR Manager of the Year, Nancy Daughety, RN, has bragging rights to all three. Daughety is administrative director of perioperative services at St Francis Hospital, Inc, a 376-bed community hospital in Columbus,…

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OR leaders have always been committed to patient safety, but an increased focus on quality has them redoubling their efforts. With the recent initiatives linking patient satisfaction to reimbursement, it’s not surprising that OR leaders are emphasizing patient safety and satisfaction, as reflected in comments from the 24th annual OR…

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The OR Manager webinar series, now under the direction of Ellen Lord, MS, RN, CNOR, is an important resource for continuing education as well as best practices to optimize efficiency and performance. Webinars are presented twice a month. Attendees who complete a brief online posttest and evaluation satisfactorily may earn…

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Attending several professional meetings each year is a rewarding part of my job and a critical component of my ongoing education. As a non-clinician, I learn a lot from listening to healthcare professionals, and capturing some of what’s presented at these meetings is an attempt to keep readers abreast of…

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Keeping the OR trains running on time, keeping a lid on costs, and keeping team members’ behavior in check are a few of the hurdles in the path of every perioperative nurse leader each day. Another stressor that is probably not even on the radar but should be is lack…

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The way people feel at work profoundly influences how they perform, and recent surveys find a higher percentage of burnout than engagement among many US employees, according to a New York Times article. The authors, Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath, cite a 2013 Gallup poll showing that just 30% of…

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Nearly 4 years have passed since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued the recommendation for 80% of RNs to get their bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree by 2020. To achieve that goal, the IOM says, “Healthcare organizations should encourage nurses with associate’s and diploma degrees to enter baccalaureate…

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Hospital safety scores released by the Leapfrog Group on April 29 show a 6.3% average improvement since 2012. Performance at almost a third of hospitals has improved at least 10% since 2012, but some hospitals’ scores have dropped. And with medical errors tied to more than 400,000 deaths per year…

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