Patients often sit nervously in the reception area as they wait to hear their name loudly called when it's time to get prepped for surgery. To take some of the stress out of...

You might use covert monitoring methods and punitive punishments to improve your staff's compliance with hand hygiene protocols, but I believe in overt observations...

Patients are informed before and after surgery about the amount of post-op pain they're likely to experience. To complement those important discussions, we created...

Marking trash bags with an OR's room number is a simple way to shorten the search for misplaced instruments. No matter how many instrument counts take place...

If you went out of your way to get recycling bins into your ORs, the last thing you want is for all your green efforts to go to waste when recyclables accidentally wind up getting...

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, one of the first things we noticed was the negative shift in everyone's moods. We're both very upbeat people, so we brainstormed...

We devised a simple method to let each other know when ORs have been turned over and are ready for the next patient. A staff member places a magnetic button embossed...

It’s important to utilize the medications and supplies you paid for instead of letting them go to waste. For years, we checked our emergency carts for expired supplies...

Surgery can be a scary thing, especially for kids, so I tested different ways to reduce the anxiety of pediatric patients who were having their tonsils and adenoids removed at...

Staff members who aren’t given time to take breaks during busy shifts can quickly become dissatisfied. Ensuring each staff member as an opportunity to step away from...

Do you want to educate staff on the key points of donning and doffing safety gear, and boost morale all in one shot? Try hosting a PPE Fashion Show at your facility. Ask your...

Celebrating staff birthdays is far from a new idea, but we think we created the perfect twist to the common morale-booster. Before an upcoming birthday, several staff...

Now that many healthcare workers need to wear masks all day due to the pandemic, many complain that the elastic supports are rough on their ears, even rubbing them...

Our surgery center hosts small infants and young adults, so we always come up with many different ways to establish trust with our patients and reassure them before...

You may not give much thought to the disposable safety straps that hold patients in place during surgery, but what if you knew they were costing your hospital close to...

Personal mobile devices are a breeding ground for bacteria, so make sure the phones, devices and laptops used throughout your facility don’t pose infection risks....

As a clinical educator, I focus on three major components of airway management competency: knowledge, skill and attitude. We've added validation and verifications of...

Staff can feel disconnected from the decisionmakers who determine how facilities are run. Giving them an opportunity to have their voices heard and speak openly with...

After gynecological procedures such as hysterectomies, surgeons place vaginal packing to stop excessive bleeding. But how are physicians and even patients to know that...

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our health system shut down three facilities to protect them from the coronavirus. When those facilities reopened for elective...