1. Preoperative safety briefings do not delay operating theater start time and are popular among staff, according to a study published in Journal of Patient Safety. Staff reported positive attitudes toward the briefings: 97 percent said the briefing highlighted potential patient problems and 89 percent said it improved communication.
2. Allowing surgeons to work part-time may help reduce the shortage of surgeons, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The researchers’ model predicted that by 2030, there would be between approximately 4,000-12,000 additional surgeons depending on the percent of surgeons who opted for part-time work instead of retirement.
3. Female general surgery residents were twice as likely as men to be concerned about their competence after training, according to a study published in Archives of Surgery. Residents with children, residents at a lower postgraduate year and residents at larger, university-based programs in the northeastern United States were also less confident in their operating skill.
4. Researchers suggest information cards are a time-efficient method of reducing families’ anxiety while they wait for patients to come out of surgery, according to a study published in AORN Journal. Researchers found information cards with estimated procedure times, notable telephone numbers and other information eased anxiety among a significant number of study participants.
5. Compared with no intervention, technology-enhanced simulation training is associated with better outcomes, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Results showed large effects in the technology-enhanced simulation training group for outcomes of knowledge, skills and behavior and moderate effects for patient-related outcomes compared to no intervention.
6. A short delay in operating room availability for urgent cases is associated with significant increases in hospital costs, according to a study published in Surgery. A gap time of more than two hours — the time from case booking to surgery start — was associated with 39 percent higher costs to the hospital.
7. Operating room floor markings increased compliance with positioning surgical devices to optimize clean air flow, according to a study published in BMJ Quality and Safety. Floor markings increased the frequency the instrument table was positioned completely within the laminar flow clean air system from 6.1 percent to 53.8 percent of cases.
8. Hospital operating room leaders should create protocols for tissue recovery that have clearly defined expectations in order to ensure patient safety and a clean surgical environment, according to a study published in the AORN Journal. The authors suggested that the tissue recovery team be asked to work in an OR that is not set up for a next-day procedure to avoid the possibility of disturbing or contaminating any equipment.
9. An article published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that operating room crisis checklists can improve safety and management in those situations, according to an AORN report.
