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Understanding Compassion Fatigue in Nursing
Nursing shortages, burnout and compassion fatigue require nurses to practice self-care. Compassion Fatigue can occur with exposure to one case or can be due to a “cumulative” level of trauma. Compassion fatigue develops over time, taking weeks, sometimes years to...
Improve Patient Outcomes: Keep the Perioperative Patient Warm
Perioperative hypothermia can be associated with significant patient morbidity and mortality, Hart, Bordes, Hart, Corsino, & Harmon (2011) describe a threefold increase in the incidence of morbid cardiac outcomes, increases in surgical blood loss, a 20% increase...
Prevent Fire Risk in the O.R.: Team Communication
Prevent Fire Risk in the O.R.: Team Communication Fire in the O.R. is catastrophic. It usually happens when the team least expects it and the patient being high-risk has usually not been identified. There is no clear data regarding how many fires occur in the O.R....
Preventing OR Specimen Errors
Operating Room Specimen Errors can be devastating as it can affect the patient diagnosis, treatment and outcome. Imagine having the correct diagnosis given to the wrong patient, or a diagnosis that never makes it to the patient because the specimen is lost! How about...
Turnover Times: Reality vs Expectations
Benchmarking efficiency is nothing new to the perioperative team; it is talked about in huddle, in services, and staff meetings. Efficiency in the Operating Room (OR) is measured by time, including start time, end time, turnover time, incision to closure time, block...
Tips for Nurses that Help Say Goodbye to Burnout
In the last blog we talked about compassion fatigue which is the emotional residue or strain of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events. It differs slightly from burnout but can co-exist. Compassion Fatigue can occur due to...
The Pediatric Surgical Patient
The pediatric surgical patient, like any other surgical patient can be vulnerable to pressure ulcers (PU). Reducing pressure injury development in the pediatric surgical patient can be challenging especially when there is an admitting diagnosis of congenital heart...
Foam or Gel for Patient Position: What Does the Evidence Say?
One of the biggest responsibilities of the operating room (OR) team is to ensure patient safety. There are many facets to patient safety in the OR. Safe patient positioning is a critical facet since the patient is unable to tell you if they are in pain or...
Proning The ICU Patient
Proning the ICU patient isn’t for the faint of heart, it takes planning, communication, collaboration and coordination and an OR nurse. It takes a team of 6-8 depending on the size of the patient to safely transfer that patient into the prone position. The key word in...
