Even as vaccination rates rise, COVID-19 continues its grip on the healthcare system and nurses are feeling the consequences, including staffing challenges that have prompted a renewed focus on retention. Scars left by the pandemic will complicate retention efforts. “The pandemic has made things much worse, not only for the…

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Mary Anne Douglas, MS, RN, CNOR, the 2021 OR Manager of the Year, has a daily routine: she spends about 15 to 20 minutes every morning catching up on pandemic- and healthcare-related news that might help her stay dynamic and innovative in her field. Evidence of her inspired work is…

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Consistency is the word that comes to mind when reviewing results from the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) reported that salary, satisfaction, and the number of employees supervised were comparable to metrics reported in 2020. The good news is that…

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Editor's Note In this study from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, researchers find that Medically Necessary, Time-Sensitive (MeNTS) scores used for elective surgical prioritization during the COVID-19 pandemic have low discriminating power in distinguishing patients with moderate or severe postoperative complications. In this analysis, 223 patients were classified according to:…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York City, finds a high level of COVID-19 pandemic impact on nurses’ intent to leave their current positions and the nursing profession. Among 5,000 nurses surveyed, pandemic impact was rated high overall and was highest in…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researcher Linda H. Aiken, PhD, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, finds that having more nurse practitioners (NPs) in hospitals has favorable effects on patients, staff, and efficiency—adding value to labor resources. Data on 579 hospitals gleaned from nurse, patient,…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at State University of New York, Binghamton, finds that social-distancing measures implemented by states in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in smaller death rates, but led to larger second waves. Conversely, social-distancing measures implemented by states later in the pandemic…

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Editor's Note The American Nurses Association (ANA) on September 1 wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), urging the agency to declare the ongoing shortage of nurses in the US a national crisis, citing the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant as a factor. In…

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Editor's Note A survey at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) finds that 30% of nurses would quit their jobs if the hospital mandates COVID-19 vaccines, the September 1 Dayton Daily News reports. Of 456 nurses surveyed, 136 said they would leave over a vaccine mandate. UCMC agreed to…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was down in August to a seasonally adjusted 15,978,700 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 3. That’s down 4,900 since July. However, hospital employment was up 3,200 jobs. The overall unemployment rate fell to 5.2%.

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