One of our staff members noticed that we're always touching our ID badges, and that pre- and post-op staff touch their stethoscopes, and even the time clock to punch...

Well, that was a blast. A record number of top surgical leaders from across the country gathered in the Big Easy for 3 days packed with presentations by national experts,...

Kids driving themselves to the OR in motorized cars isn’t new, but creating a road for them to follow and letting them dress up as superheroes on the way...

Endophthalmitis, an infection involving the entire eye, is a rare complication of invasive procedures such as cataract surgery and intravitreal injections. Post-cataract...

Hope for the Future; Diversity challenges are real, but we can overcome them.

With their hard-to-access cannulas and complex components, flexible endoscopes are not only difficult to clean, but also difficult to keep dry in storage. The biggest difference...

The Oregon Surgical Institute (OSI) is on pace to complete its 500th outpatient joint replacement of the year next month. Patients are ready to head home 6 hours after...

9 Tips for Negotiating Language Barriers; For moral, legal and financial reasons, we must do better. Here's advice on how.

My recent study showed that music can be just as effective as midazolam in calming patients' nerves before they receive peripheral nerve blocks. Based on those...

Let's face it, there are so many aspects of life in the OR that are downright frightening. From the spooky and shadowy to the gross and ghoulish, we nurses know all about...

The Joint Commission and the National Fire Protection Association guidelines say flammable preps must be allowed enough time to dry after application, pooled solution...

Many educators will tell you that students retain information better when learning is enjoyable and interactive. We put that idea into practice this year at our...

Mental health is often overlooked or not talked about because people are ashamed of sharing how they feel, or afraid of what others might think if they ask for help....

We're sticklers about ensuring staff wash or sanitize their hands before and after each patient contact. We use a secret code word, "Mango," to inform forgetful or...

Complex cataracts are becoming more common as increasing numbers of patients show up for surgery with risk factors for poor pupil dilation — uveitis, diabetes,...

You can keep your office door open or your ear to the ground and still not be tuned in to what your staff really thinks. Our "You Said, We Did" form solves that issue....

Healthcare facilities continue to face challenges in performing safe and effective endoscope reprocessing. Is it any wonder? The complex design of endoscopes makes...

The essential elements of proper endoscope care begin well before the notoriously difficult-to-clean devices are ready for high-level disinfection. The following protocols...

Patient-centered care is one of surgery's hottest buzzwords for a reason. The patients who walk into your facility expect excellent surgical care. That much is a given....

When we experienced an uncharacteristic increase in SSIs starting in August 2018 — 9 infections over the next 6 months — we assumed the spike was related to opening...