The Daily Adventures of Surgical Leadership
Risk management can be challenging. We know that we are responsible for “managing risk”, but what does that really mean? In practical terms, we support a culture of safety to reduce risk as it relates to our daily operations. If you think about it, so…
We have all heard the horror stories…of nurses using used needles and syringes, using unsafe techniques, using the same fluid bags or vials, and other of improper injection practices, making patients sick, or at minimum, requiring notification and testing of exposed patients. These unsafe injection…
It’s hard to think about “alternate” communication. We are always communicating. We are constantly receiving texts, emails, and phone calls. Now CMS wants us to have an alternate plan, when we can barely keep up with regular communication. If you consider, however, as…
I have the privilege of assisting surgical facilities prepare for surveys. I have seen countless wonderful, clean, well prepared centers where I would feel confident in having surgery or taking a loved one for surgery. Even in the most pristine facilities, there is sometimes an…
Maintaining credentialing files can be a job in itself. I think it’s the way you approach it. Not unlike a challenging project or recipe, with good preparation, organization, and a little creativity, your credentialing files can be organized, up-to-date, and survey ready. Whether you are…
Some of my most challenging days in my surgery center career have been due to temperature and humidity problems in the OR. There have been times where I felt like I should have obtained an HVAC certification in dealing with hot rooms, broken systems, and…
June 10th is NTOD….National Time Out Day. It may seem like we are bombarded with safe surgical checklists, time out, and correct site language all the time, but it makes sense to make Time Out a focus in our facilities one day a year…
As much as we all gloss over with statistics, I was really surprised when I learned that 50% of all workplace assaults occur to healthcare workers. We want our staff to be safe, but may not always have the tools and resources to offer optimal…
In-services. We all know the importance of training our staff, keeping them updated and communicating regularly. If you are like me, You swear you just had an in-service recently, go back to your records, and time has flown by. Could that last documented in-service really have…
If you are anything like me, you sighed out loud in hearing about the outbreaks this week at some care facilities linked to potentially contaminated scopes. The word superbug should be only something found in scary movies, yet is unfortunately very real.