When I noticed patients who visited our hospital's emergency department carried their personal belongings home in single-use plastic bags, I knew there had to be...

To grasp the importance of preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in joint replacement patients, consider what happens if the bacteria...

Study Finds Sedation Method Doesn't Affect Adenoma Detection Rate; No significant difference between moderate or deep sedation in colonoscopy detection rates.

Negligence Suit: Reckless Intraoperative Neuromonitoring During Spinal Surgery Led to Deadly Catastrophic Hypoxic Brain Injury; $4.2M settlement reached in suit that alleged physiatrist behind wheel and on phone instead of neuromonitoring patient's b

Class Action: 600 Ex-employees Sue Laser Spine Institute for 2 Months of Pay and Benefits; the chain of surgery centers closed without warning - now some stunned workers are seeking restitution.

It takes about 24 hours for enough epithelial cells to proliferate across surgical wounds to protect the area from infection. You can tell patients to keep wounds...

Soon after I started my career in the OR 38 (!) years ago, the first Universal Law of OR Nursing grabbed me by my scrub jacket and shook me into a higher state of...

If your anesthesia providers rely on inhaled anesthetics and opioids, they're behind the times. As Gary Lawson, MD, says: "I used to knock out patients. Now I knock out...

Cataract surgeons continue to live somewhat dangerously in their efforts to prevent the rare but dangerous infection of post-op endophthalmitis. Topical prophylaxis...

Isador Lieberman, MD, MBA, FRCSC, was involved in the development of the original Mazor robot, and has been one of the pioneers and champions of robotic spine...

You never want to sacrifice patient safety in your quest to start the next case as soon as possible. Here's a collection of tips to speed room turnover without jeopardizing...

The most common surgical malpractice claim is operative negligence, which arises when a plaintiff alleges that a surgeon deviated from the standard of care during...

The patient was saying all the right things, but something about the way she was acting seemed off. Turn on your observers, thought the receptionist. It's the motto...

Our hand hygiene compliance had gone to the dogs when the idea struck me to unleash my sweet English Bulldog, Lilly, on the problem. I took down our standard please...

I've conducted more than 1,000 fire drills at surgery centers. OR staff make the same 4 mistakes when trying to extinguish a simulated fire. These simple errors...

A few months ago, my staff came to me with a rather odd request. They wanted to convert an empty room off of the surgery area into a relaxation room, a mini-retreat...

I am the founder of Littlethanks (littlethanks.ca), a line of scrub-sized thank-you cards for nurses to let their fellow nurses know how much they appreciate and respect...

The impact inhalational anesthetics have on the environment is probably greater than you realize. Consider these planet-polluting realities:...

If you're like most surgery center administrators, you started out as a hospital OR circulator, an apprenticeship that didn't come close to preparing you for all the hats...

When does it make the most sense to buy prefilled syringes? Some say if you administer a drug 10 times or more a day, you’ll save considerable time not having to draw it up,...