My career as a nurse anesthetist recently began at two plastic surgery centers, where I knew I'd face significant challenges in managing PONV. Rates of the relatively common...

It's important to keep everyone on your staff engaged and connected, and fun group activities can help create a sense of community among the team. Try inviting members of your perioperative department to submit unique...

Surgical incisions create openings and opportunities for the trillions of bacterial cells that live inside of the body, so efforts to prevent post-op infections shouldn't end until...

Though often considered more of a niche procedure, replacing only the diseased part of the knee offers advantages to the right patient, including a faster recovery and higher satisfaction with the overall results, says...

Success in cataract surgery is often defined by excellent outcomes achieved quickly and safely. SightTrust Eye Institute in Sunrise, Fla., has that process down to an exact science....

A cardiac procedure is on the schedule and there are eight different-sized stents — at $80 a pop — that could be used. Your surgical team opens all eight, even though seven will likely be thrown away. That's $560 worth...

Our "Above and Beyond" program allows staff members to nominate their colleagues for recognition whenever they are seen upholding our facility's core values, which include always putting the patient first, being inclusive,...

Patients who are discharged hours after procedures that used to require inpatient stays to recover don't hurt any less. Today's pain control methods must advance along with...

The coronavirus has forced us to change how we present ongoing education for our medical center's 120 perioperative team members. Monthly staff education at our hospital used to occur in a large conference room...

Numbing nerves with local anesthetics relieves post-op pain for days at a time. Freezing them with a blast of targeted cold therapy can provide the same soothing effect for...

Long before we were in the grip of a global pandemic and surgical masks became fashion accessories, OR nurses were known to stash hard-to-come-by supplies such as gloves and gowns and, yes, N95s. Of course, COVID has...

This is a hectic time to run a GI center, isn't it? As you keep pace with newly scheduled colonoscopies and work through a backlog of postponed procedures, know the stakes...

Life in our small ASC is different from most hospitals in our area. We've traded responding to emergency codes in ICUs for the pleasure of spending holidays with loved ones, and the hustle and bustle of ERs for...

For most patients, wearing a surgical mask is a minor inconvenience and a necessary part of receiving care in the era of COVID-19. For patients with a hearing impairment who rely on reading lips, however, a mask effectively severs...

Challenges still exist in providing equitable access to health care for all people. This has been evident during the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted people of color, particularly African Americans and...

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...

Surgery centers become outdated after about 20 years. Ours certainly had. Its four ORs were constantly filled to capacity. The waiting room was cramped. Walls felt like they...

The couple minutes you spend applying a nasal antiseptic to joint replacement patients before they undergo surgery is well worth your time. I tested the impact nasal...

It can be challenging to connect with patients or family members who have hearing or vision impairment, or have limited English proficiency, especially if staff don't have the auxiliary aides necessary to communicate effectively....

When Concord (N.H.) Orthopaedics was designing its brand-new surgery center, two words dominated all discussions: future expansion. The group's leaders made every...