Katie Yarber, RN, BSN, says delivering babies at Houston Methodist Hospital during the height of last year’s COVID-19 restrictions has been the highlight of her career. “It was...

Why don’t all healthcare facilities employ some sort of surgical smoke evacuation system? Not only does surgical smoke smell and obstruct the surgeon’s view of the...

Effective sharps safety is a multifaceted endeavor. It requires a holistic approach that incorporates mindfulness, effective communication, safety-engineered devices,...

The reprocessing of flexible endoscopes involves dozens of steps that must be performed correctly every time by staff members who follow an airtight scope handling...

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more about proper instrument care than Linda Gomes. The former surgical tech used to work in the sterile processing...

Many surgeons put very little forethought into wound care. The thought process is that when the procedure ends, the important work is done, so dealing with closing the...

Victoria Hornbeck, RN, BSN, CNOR, was recently put in charge of reimagining the between-case cleaning of orthopedic operating rooms at Northside Hospital Forsyth in...

Outpatient Surgery Magazine's eNews Briefs. Bringing you the surgical news you want.

Reprocessing techs at outpatient ophthalmic facilities don’t often deal with grossly contaminated instruments, so it helps to alert them when tools are in need of extra attention before sterilization. “Enzymatic detergents...

From meticulous bedside pre-cleaning to high-level disinfection, endoscope reprocessing is a complex process that benefits greatly from standardization. That’s no...

This is an article about endoscope reprocessing. You know what that entails by now. Or at least you should. Scopes are wiped down with an enzymatic cleaner at the bedside...

While many facilities were shuttered during the pandemic’s first wave, OMNI Surgery Center’s quick action allowed surgeons to use the facility’s four operating rooms for urgent cases when former New York Governor...

Outpatient Surgery Magazine's eNews Briefs. Bringing you the surgical news you want.

At their core, anesthesia machines are basically all the same: They administer inhalational agents to induce sedation or general anesthesia while maintaining...

At my most recent full-time clinical role in a hospital, there was a significant issue with post-op infections in patients who underwent colon procedures. We instituted...

Outpatient surgery is often compared to aviation because both industries use checklists and crew resource management to avoid catastrophe. Airlines and surgery centers also rely on tight schedules to keep daily operations running,...

Outpatient Surgery Magazine's eNews Briefs. Bringing you the surgical news you want.

A popular form of entertainment is a great way to boost your staff’s engagement in infection prevention training. “We decided to turn an entire education session into a zombie-themed escape room with an emphasis on...

Laminar air flow in an operating room is carefully designed to prevent airborne contaminants from reaching the sterile field. However, even the most perfectly...

Outpatient Surgery Magazine's eNews Briefs. Bringing you the surgical news you want.