As the year comes to an end and facilities take stock of their practices in 2024, it’s helpful to review concerns expressed by patient safety groups and consider the...

When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a wide-reaching ban on noncompete employment agreements in April, companies everywhere went into a tizzy....

There are a dizzying amount of medication safety requirements and best practices you are expected to comply with every day....

The number of unintended retained surgical items (URSIs) reported to The Joint Commission (TJC) continued to decline in 2022, with 88 events disclosed...

The healthcare industry heard the jarring news in January: 7,600 people bought bogus nursing diplomas with cash from three South Florida schools and were now...

When RaDonda Vaught was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide for a fatal medication error that she self-reported, the ruling sent shockwaves across the medical community and left nurses fearful the criminalization of medical mistakes could...

A complaint about the behavior of a staff member will hopefully never get to the point where it’s heard by a jury, but you should know how to conduct a thorough, professional and well-documented investigation...

I have been a surgical nurse for more than 30 years and a patient numerous times. I’m fully aware, from both sides of the table, of the importance of safe surgical care. There are numerous factors that go into protecting...

RaDonda Vaught stood in silence next to her attorney, seemingly resigned to her fate as the jury rendered its verdict. Guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult. ...

Wrong-site surgery is devastating for the patient, the staff who worked the case and the surgeon who made the incorrect cut. Still, the avoidable error remains the third most...

Surgical facilities across the country are in a holding pattern as court injunctions have temporarily blocked federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates for about half of the...

Proper medication safety requires surgical leaders to ask some very tough questions. Are employees stealing drugs for consumption or resale? Did a staffer not dilute a drug...

Many of you have learned, implemented, tweaked and documented new cleaning practices and infection control protocols — measures that seemingly changed from week to week — to keep your patients and staff safe...

The full-time coder at your busy surgery center is an hourly employee who constantly logs 60-hour workweeks. You're looking to cut your overtime budget and also do the right thing for the hardworking employee by...

What a difference a year can make. Even as vaccines are being administered and lingering restrictions brought on by the pandemic are being lifted, your center must be prepared to face continuing COVID-related...

The COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to be administered and you face the possibility that some members of your staff will refuse to get inoculated. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has...

You do countless things over the course of a case to ensure a successful outcome, but often don't think to include them in the patient's chart because, well, they seem like...

Handle Workplace Legal Issues Like a Pro; Surgical leaders must learn how to appropriately address staffing concerns.

One of the many duties of perioperative nurses is to make sure cases start on time. No matter how full the day's OR schedule, however, they should never rush the informed...

Elective surgeries are back on the schedule and staff are returning under new circumstances and different expectations. As you begin to perform procedures amid the...