2020 End of Year Message
With just a few days left in December, I know we’re all eager to see the book closed on 2020. This time last year, if a fortune teller had told us that we would experience the vast array of challenges we have seen across the globe, I’m pretty sure we’d be asking for our money […]
Perseverance and Resilience: Thank a Healthcare Worker
For many of us, COVID-19 seems to be all we hear about or can think about; it is our constant reality. My wife is an occupational therapist and she works at a state funded, COVID-19 rehab center. Every day, she dons two sets of PPE after leaving “the clean room” and sets about treating patients […]
The Ability to Adapt has Never Been More Necessary
A few days ago, I put my 21-year old son on an airplane back to school. He attends the US Coast Guard Academy and they have summer training. He’s been home for the past 3 months, finishing the semester via online work, like every other college student across the globe. I wondered what advice I […]
The Cost of Perioperative Nurse Turnover
I read an interesting study in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care that provided a staggering statistic: “~17.5% of perioperative nurses intend to leave their job within the first year of starting a new job.” Think about that. Almost 1 out of every 5 new nurse hires in the surgery space will plan […]
The Jigsaw Puzzle of Surgical Scheduling
In a conversation with a cardiovascular surgeon recently, I asked him what his greatest fear was as his hospital began to open up ORs for elective surgeries. I was expecting to hear about COVID screening or the need for more PPE. His greatest fear? That the surgical scheduler would take vacation or get ill over […]
The Fear of Seeking Care
In our last blog, I raised the issue of having a thorough communication plan for patients, as those waiting for elective surgeries flounder in the void of information. Many states have lifted restrictions and are now allowing elective procedures to begin. Yet, another unanticipated consequence of COVID-19 is the fear some patients now have of […]