A new nurse asks for advice about how to manage the constant change in workflow.

Learn four steps that you can take to effectively develop an assertive attitude that will allow you to be the advocate that you need to be in the OR—both for your patients and for your team members.

My career in perioperative nursing spans over 30 years, during which I have experienced many significant milestones that have shaped my professional journey and gained many insights that I believe are worth sharing.

As you gaze around the OR and acknowledge the surgeon removing the tumor from the patient's abdomen and hand it to the scrub person as you prepare to collect the specimen, you cannot help but think, “Imagine if I had to handle some of these tasks without gloves?” You can silently thank Caroline Hampton and Joseph Bloodgood for avoiding that scenario as you place the tumor into a specimen cup.

Both lead and lead-free garments are designed to shield the body from x-rays, particularly the vital organs and reproductive areas, which are more sensitive to radiation.

Maintaining normothermia during the perioperative period is an essential part of patient care and is a quality objective per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) merit-based incentive payment system, yet, hypothermia remains a common occurrence, occurring in 50-70% of patients undergoing general anesthesia.

Test your general perioperative knowledge with this crossword puzzle.

One of the best perks of working in the OR is the team. Everyone knows their job and does it well. But what do you do when someone refuses to be a team player? Here are three tips (and one absolutely essential skill) to deal with inhibitory attitudes in the OR.

Entering unfamiliar surgical procedures as an orientee or recently trained nurse can be daunting. Utilize the preference card as a resource to alleviate fears and position yourself to anticipate the needs of the surgical team.

Caring for patients through their surgical journey is a big job—families and loved ones trust us and believe that evidence-based care will be delivered. So, speak up and continue to ask questions until you have the knowledge you need to take care of the patients under your watch.

One nurse describes her years as a new nurse, the bullying she faced, and how she overcame the challenges she experienced to thrive as a perioperative nurse.

Encoding information for long-term storage is a strategy that we can apply to teaching methodologies. It helps improve information recall and subsequently knowledge transfer for our learners.

Ask any perioperative nurse, and they will tell you about a personal experience (or two) with a medical device failure. Therefore, knowing how to prevent and handle medical device errors is critical.

Codes are very stressful and emotional situations for everyone involved. Regardless of the outcome, sometimes you must keep going with your day.

As a new nurse asks for advice about how to bolster patients' trust in them and the team.

This article will provide some tips to help you navigate The Joint Commission onsite visits with ease and confidence.

Many of our habits and techniques in patient care stem from one intent: to prevent harm to our patients. There is one tool that you likely do not utilize to its fullest potential to optimize your patients’ safety. The way in which we use our words significantly impacts our patients’ risks for sentinel events.

Cardiac valve replacement surgery is one option for mitral stenosis, mitral regurgitation, aortic stenosis, or aortic insufficiency/regurgitation.

Family members of patients in perioperative settings should be included during key moments of communication, such as teaching moments (e.g., preoperative discussions) and data collection (e.g., discussing medications and allergies).