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Providing interpreter services is not enough to ensure good communication between patients, family members, and clinicians. It is important to make sure staff understands when to access interpreters, what services are available, and how to use the resources.
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The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) has announced the results for its annual salary survey of perioperative nurses. Survey participants included staff nurses, managers, (i.e., nurse managers/supervisors/coordinators/team leaders/business managers) high-level managers (vice presidents, directors, assistant directors, and hospital/facility administrators), educators, RN first assistants (RNFAs), and clinical nurse specialists.
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Sherman Hospital in Elgin, IL, takes a proactive approach to ensuring that surgical patients are placed in the proper inpatient or observation status by asking physicians to fill out a surgical reservation form before the surgery is scheduled.
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The holidays finally are over, and most of us have nothing really important to do this month. OK, maybe four of you have something really important to do at work this month, but for the rest of us
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The Joint Commission provides instruction for hospital staff on how to create a more welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients and their families in a new field guide.
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The link between healthcare worker fatigue and adverse events is well documented, prompting The Joint Commission to issue a new Sentinel Event Alert: Health care worker fatigue and patient safety. The alert urges greater attention to preventing fatigue among healthcare workers and suggests specific actions for organizations to mitigate the risks.
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A physician complained to the chief of staff and hospital management that surgical equipment was not being sterilized properly and a patient died as a result. The hospital responded by firing the physician, says Dave Scher, JD, a principal with The Employment Law Group in Washington, DC, who handled this case and specializes in representing whistleblowers.
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At Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a military hospital operated by the Army and the Defense Department in Landstuhl, Germany, medical-surgical teams save the lives every day of warriors wounded in Afghanistan and, until recently, saved troops wounded in Iraq. But that's only part of their success.
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Accrediting agencies do not provide a blueprint for writing a strategic plan. However, The Joint Commission and Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) expect hospital, ambulatory surgery center (ASC), and office-based surgery administrators to devote time to planning.
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The ECRI Institute has said robotics should be on your radar for 2012, according to its top 10 watch list for CEOs, CFOs, and COOs1 (See complete list, below.) The list included one chapter with the provocative title, "Are costly robot wars coming to your operating room?