Picture this scene: a nurse in her 50s attends to an ED patient who is suffering a seizure. The nurse successfully uses a time-tested approach to treat the patient. Her 20-something colleague observes her actions and compliments the older nurse’s quick thinking and judgment call. The millennial nurse then proceeds to suggest an alternative method she recently learned in nursing school. This remark slightly annoys the nurse who has worked 30-plus years in health care.more...
It’s December. All around us are reminders that this is the season for joy: colorful lights, familiar carols and cherished family and friends. But if you read health care news, or speak with your staff, you know that joyful isn’t always the way our workplaces are described.
Almost weekly, we see new and startling studies stating how burnout has taken root in our hospitals, stealing the joy from one of the most noble career pursuits - being a caregiver. A few fast stats reveal:more...
In the United States, suicides rank 10th in the nation as the leading cause of death. Of the nearly 45,000 suicides that occur each year, approximately 50 to 65 occur in hospitals. Although this is a low number, facilities must be diligent in their efforts to provide a safe environment for at-risk patients.more...
What does it take to actually slow down and not rush through important tasks? A simple decision? An outside force? Money? Sickness? There are so many things that can cause us to hit the brakes, but usually we like to keep our foot heavy on the gas pedal.more...
For years, vendors and supply chain leaders have engaged in negotiating prices for expensive implant medical devices. Every price increase was challenged, and as competition grew, the cost of these implants has gradually decreased, while the cost for orthobiologic products has actually risen three-fold. According to Becker’s Spine Review, the spinal biologics market is anticipated to hit $2.7 billion by 2023.more...
Two deaths, 24 serious injuries and 32 device malfunctions. Those are the number of reports received by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2011 related to enteral device misconnections. And despite the educational and awareness efforts of many organizations, misconnections continue to occur.more...
I live in a growing and desirable part of southeastern United States. To get just about anywhere by car however I have to drive through rural America. Recently, I stopped at a small, independently owned gas station and noticed something strange behind the counter. There was only one choice of cigarettes. In my experience, tobacco sales were a big business in this part of the country and gas stations made a pretty good margin on every pack sold. I asked the attendant if those were the only...more...
The health care landscape has been changing over the last 20 years to meet the increased pressure of providing high quality care while controlling costs. While hospital administrators have focused on pressing department leaders to lower supply costs and streamline operations to gain efficiencies, the physician shortage has continued to grow, creating more challenges.more...
Approximately one in five adults in the U.S.—43.8 million or 18.5 percent—experiences mental illness in a given year. When I was almost 40 years old, I discovered that I was one of those five individuals. The problems began when I was only five years old and continued through my 30s, which is when I “bottomed out.” I finally reached out for help and began treatment with medication. After three years of finding the right medication and adjusting to the right dosage, I...more...
Several years ago, a 16-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va. for care. Police officers had found her in a local motel room after she had been kidnapped from a bus stop in North Carolina. The investigation showed she was being forced into prostitution and trafficked between Maryland and Virginia.more...
