The 18-month-old in the recovery room wasn’t my case, but then his care took a sudden turn. When the toddler became hypoxic, the anesthesiologist looked at me and yelled...

Welcome to the world of time-release treatments — meds that you administer before or during surgery, but that keep working for days, weeks, months or even years,...

We place many of our neuro patients in the prone position. Until recently, we were also re-positioning them in the prone position. Quite a bit. Not good. The more you move...

In 2006, an outbreak of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) caused shockwaves in the ophthalmology community. Task forces were formed, studies were undertaken,...

When your patients leave your facility, they should know all the do’s and don’ts of wound care. If their wound is changing colors, they should know what that means,...

Sometimes overlooked in the world of surgery, particularly in the faster pace and turnover of the outpatient setting, is the need to prepare patients' bodies for...

We've always known about the hidden bacterial threat in your OR's anesthesia work area, the microbes lingering on the anesthesia machine and the pathogens...

Ever take a close look at your trash? When we did, we found we were needlessly throwing away sponges and supplies. • Sponges. Only sponges that are grossly saturated in blood...

My day begins at 5:45 a.m. sharp when I walk from pre-op to PACU to check on everything from medical gases to medications. Here’s the mental checklist I complete...

Despite what anyone claims, nobody is a born leader. Sure, some people are born with certain skills — communication, showmanship, empathy, charisma...

In OR years, I’m officially old. I’m that nurse who thinks that if it’s not broken, keep it so I don’t have to learn how to use new stuff. And I’m that nurse who’s suddenly surrounded...

When you rewrite your policy on reducing pressure injuries, you then need to get the right pressure redistributing devices to implement the policy. We invited vendors...

It's easy to lose sight of how vulnerable your patients are when they're laid out on the operating room table, sedated, anesthetized, cold and exposed, precious little...

Of the safety measures surgeons tend to turn their masks up at, double gloving ranks up there with safety sharps and smoke evacuation. But surgeons have loosened...

To stay on top of your daily demands, host a daily morning huddle to get your team leaders on the same page. It’s a small change, but one that can help you manage...

If your patient drinks all her prep the night before her colonoscopy screening, her colon will be fully cleaned out when she goes to bed. But the digestive system never sleeps....

Soon after a total joint or a colon resection patient settles into his pre-op room at Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Boardman (Ohio) Hospital, he's greeted by a nurse holding a box...

A Facility Fit for Orthopedics; We're set to open a surgery center built to meet the growing demand for outpatient spine and same-day total joints.

Are You Set Up for Spine? Outfit your ORs for one of outpatient surgery's hottest specialties.

Bring Your GI Suite Up to Speed Without Breaking the Bank; Pay-per-use financing helped us fund our facility-wide makeover.