Effect of standardized handoff on improved clinician preparedness in the ICU
Editor's Note The UW [University of Washington]-IPASS standardized handoff curriculum improves provider preparedness and workflow in the ICU, this study finds. The intent of UW-IPASS is to standardized and improve clinician handoffs through the use of a mnemonic and electronic medical record tool that ensures communication of essential information. UW-IPASS…
Bullying: From conflict to confrontation to civility in the OR--Part 1
Nurse bullying is a hot issue, even in the lay press—consider the 2015 Marie Claire article, “Mean Girls of the ER: The Alarming Nurse Culture of Bullying and Hazing.” Numbers vary, but the American Nurses Association reports that between 18% and 31% of nurses have experienced bullying at work. The…
Peer initiative cultivates a better OR culture
The following “success story” describes the PEER initiative at Geisinger Medical Center, which has involved staff in making decisions to improve processes and communication. OR Manager periodically publishes success stories like this from nurse leaders or other healthcare providers who want to share their experience with our readers. Recent examples…
Walk the talk: Words matter when it comes to patient safety
Every week Ann Shimek, MSN, BSN, RN, CASC, hits the road to communicate about communicating. Shimek is senior vice president of clinical operations at United Surgical Partners International (USPI) in Addison, Texas. She and her team of six clinical nurses travel among USPI’s 21 hospitals and 260 ambulatory surgery centers…
Successful onboarding of surgeons makes good business sense
Perioperative staff complete a thorough orientation to ease their transition into a new job, but what about surgeons? How are they onboarded into a new OR? This isn’t an academic question—effective onboarding is key to the success, including financial success, of the OR. “To have someone walk through the door…
PACU patient flow improves with CRNA assistance
Throughput inefficiencies are a growing problem in surgical services departments. Patients are held in the OR because there is no room in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and patients are held in the PACU because there are no beds available in the patient care unit or because outpatients having major…
OR efficiency, staff satisfaction rise with TeamSTEPPS
Perioperative services that implement the TeamSTEPPS program—Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety—can see a range of benefits such as a better reporting culture, improved operational efficiency, and increased staff satisfaction, suggest emerging data presented in recent webinars and at a national conference. TeamSTEPPS was jointly developed…
Reducing robotic OR turnover times with a pit stop model
Editor's Note Concepts from motor racing pit stops, including role definition, task allocation, task sequencing, and a visual cue for ease-of-use, created efficient and sustainable approaches for decreasing robotic OR turnover times in this study. Average turnover time was 99.2 minutes before introducing the pit stop model and 53.2 minutes…
Lack of shared mental model in cardiac surgical team members may contribute to errors
Editor's Note Cardiac surgical team members recognize distinct critical time points during cardiac surgery, but a high degree of variability exists between members as to the importance of these times, which suggests an absence of a shared mental model, this study finds. Cardiac team members from three institutions developed a…
Employee engagement: The path to better patient care--Part 2
Nurse engagement and leadership development were among the top concerns cited in a recent survey of healthcare leaders who reflected on challenges in nursing. To engage the nurse workforce, leaders themselves must be engaged, perioperative services leaders recently told OR Manager. In part 1 of this two-part series, they discussed…
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- Study: ERAS protocol reduces opioid use after cardiac surgery
- Study: Prehabilitation reduces surgical complications, speeds recovery
- Commentary: Studies show how surgeon decisions follow the money
- Proposed HIPAA updates would improve cybersecurity, increase costs for healthcare providers
- Study: EMR data can enhance hand hygiene compliance, infection prevention
- Study: Machine learning model improves perioperative pain assessment
- Call for improved suicide risk screening in ASCs aims to strengthen safety protocols
- Study: Perioperative pregabalin reduces risk of kidney decline compared to gabapentin
- Medical school diversity declines after Supreme Court ruling
- Surgeons risk losing ground as transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions rise