Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced February 19 that the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth has been awarded the first Primary Heart Attack Center (PHAC) certification by the Joint Commission and American Heart Association. The certification standardizes and improves coordinated systems of care for identification, assessment, monitoring,…

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Editor's Note A new HCA Healthcare survey finds that in the past 4 years Millennials and Gen Z nurses have gone from being the minority to now being the majority in the employee population, and their professional priorities and expectations differ from past generations, according to a February 11 report…

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Editor's Note In this article, the American College of Surgeons and the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, which launched the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery (ISCR) in 2016, announce that they are expanding the scope…

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Editor's Note Though many self-help books advise people to find their passion, this is terrible advice, says LaRae Quy in the January 15 issue of SmartBrief/Leadership. Passion is a “hedonistic approach to life,” that is popular right now, she says. People think they need to be passionate about their jobs…

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An effective handoff helps ensure care transitions are safe and efficient, but achieving the ideal handoff can be challenging. Part 1 of this two-part series provided an overview of the role of handoffs in the perioperative setting (OR Manager, January 2020, 22-23, 25). This article offers best practices for successful…

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Most hospital leaders are well aware of the coming wave of nurse retirements. However, few leaders understand that this wave will likely hit the OR even earlier than other departments. According to research from NSI Nursing Solutions, surgical services nurses are on average older than other nursing professionals. Because OR…

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Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare but life-threatening surgical complication that seems to turn the effects of general anesthesia upside down. Instead of relaxing, muscles become rigid, releasing large amounts of acid and potassium into the blood. Instead of a normal slowing of breathing, respirations quicken, and end-tidal CO2 rises.…

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A care transition poses a danger point for patients—failing to “hand off” needed information from one clinician to another can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. The Joint Commission was so concerned about handoffs that in 2017 it issued a sentinel event alert on the topic. “Handoffs are a safety…

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In 2017, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Alert Event on the problem of inadequate handoff communication, focusing attention on this vital aspect of care. (See related story, p 22.) Clinicians and leaders agree that handoffs are important, but implementing them effectively can be challenging, particularly in the fast-paced perioperative…

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Editor's Note In this analysis of measurements (ie, staff’s caring, workplace engagement, and work empowerment) assessed before and after implementation of an interprofessional shared governance model, only work empowerment scores of staff working in relationship-based care professional practice models were sustainable and increased progressively and significantly over time. Work engagement…

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