Special Editions Archive

Years ago, Valerie Y. Marsh, BSN, MSN, DNP, CNOR, was sure a sponge had been left inside a patient. "The surgeon swore it wasn't in there, and he wasn't going to reopen...

Be careful, the floor's wet and slippery. Colbie Fredette, RN, absentmindedly repeats that phrase without looking up whenever someone walks into the OR during fluid-heavy...

For the longest time, we believed safer equipment and safety procedures were the way to prevent sharps injuries. But after years of increased focus on sharps safety, this hasn't been...

When our chief medical officer joined our daily safety huddle one morning, I saw a golden opportunity to get our smoke-free OR program off the ground. I'd been trying...

Wrong-site surgeries occur approximately 40 times a week in facilities across the U.S. Surgical professionals must therefore ask themselves why these avoidable errors...

"The OR is on fire!" Did we get your attention? Approximately 500 surgical fires occur every year in the U.S.,...

You authored the world's bestselling primer Understanding Patient Safety. What's the single most important component of keeping patients safe?...

For surgical facility leaders, safety is everything. You meet rigorous quality and care standards, practice evidence-based medicine, use cutting-edge technology and adhere...

A safe and speedy recovery is the result of a comprehensive process that begins long before incisions are made and continues well after patients exit your facility. From the moment...

Hip replacements may be thought of as elective surgery, but not for the patients who need a new joint. After trying to manage their chronic pain with anti-inflammatories,...