Patients who underwent surgery at Hunterdon Center for Surgery in Flemington, N.J., used to store their street clothes in non descript plastic bags. But then leadership saw an opportunity to improve on the practice...

It feels good to go above and beyond for someone just to see them smile. That’s the reasoning behind Vance Thompson Vision’s secret service initiative, which allows anyone on the staff to spend up to $100 on a patient...

Surgical professionals are growing more interested in finding ways to eliminate opioids from the post-op pain management equation and the stakes have never been higher....

At the height of the pandemic last year, Paras Barnett, BSN, RN, HNB-BC, CMSRN, a nurse at Stanford Health Care in San Jose, Calif., knew her colleagues needed a way to...

Approach greening your facility as a strong and steady tortoise would, rather than a hare sprinting out of the box. “Build a strong foundation,” says Kaeleigh Sheehan,...

I’m fully committed to integrating the practice of public health into surgery and tapped into my passion for health equity to help launch the Center for Surgical Health (CSH) at Penn Medicine, a program that focuses on improving...

Patients who receive care at the Advanced Spine Center of Wisconsin in Neenah undergo long procedures, leaving patient escorts to sit for hours while they wait. “After a handful of patient satisfaction surveys noted that...

Patient optimization is a nebulous concept that can mean vastly different things to different providers. Joyce Wahr, MD, FAHA, believes the concept involves doing...

Cataract surgery is usually performed quickly and typically without incident. It’s the recoveries that could prove problematic. Patients must administer a staggering number...

The patient at John Muir Hospital was extremely anxious while waiting for her surgery to start and had no loved ones present to support her, which the pre-op nursing staff...

Pediatric patients who undergo procedures at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis are given Worry Monsters, adorable homemade stuffed animals that help them deal with the stress of surgery....

Staff at Vance Thompson Vision, an ophthalmic surgery center in Sioux Falls, S.D., hold the hands of patients who are particularly anxious before they enter surgery. The team is convinced the practice is every bit as effective...

When asked about the importance of a personalized approach to post-op pain control, Mike MacKinnon, DNP, FNP-C, CRNA, immediately launches into a story about a patient...

Essential oils are a growing adjunct therapy used to bolster the effectiveness of traditional antiemetics for PONV. A disposable tab containing a combination of ...

The time for repairing a wide variety of fractures on an outpatient basis is now. With patients reluctant to be admitted to hospitals due to the pandemic, and health systems...

Proper patient positioning before shoulder surgery prevents painful nerve and pressure injuries, and gives surgeons critical access to hard-to-reach areas of the joint space....

Total joint replacements have long been recognized as one of the more painful surgeries patients undergo. Thanks to the widespread use of multimodal pain...

When linens were in short supply during COVID-19, staff at Houston Physicians’ Hospital (HPH) struggled to procure enough cotton blankets to keep their patients warm. When they reached out to vendors to try to obtain more...

Asking patients to follow strict NPO restrictions is no longer commonplace — and for good reason. Allowing patients to drink clear fluids up to two hours before their scheduled procedures keeps them hydrated, reduces...

In order for an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol to work as intended, you often need an extra something that could make some medical professionals a little...