Articles
An Hour A Day
March 26, 2010 6:14 am | by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today | CommentsIt took a few years of reporting on the copious health benefits of regular physical activity for me to decide that my sedentary job and utter lack of exercise was going to catch up with me. Of course it's worth the time and effort now to reduce my later risk of a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer.
Safely Position Your Patients
March 26, 2010 6:13 am | by Peggy Forcelli, National Accounts Manager for Action Products, Inc., Medical Products Group | CommentsCompliance. Ensure your facility is following the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses’ (AORN) Recommended Practices for positioning the patient in the perioperative practice setting. As hospitals look at their statistics of hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU), a new focus is turning toward looking at the surgical patient population and the realization that a certain percentage of these patients may have OR acquired pressure ulcers (ORAPUs).
Considerations For Patient Positioning Products
March 24, 2010 8:16 am | by Greg Prentiss, Gel Product Manager, Innovative Medical Products | CommentsWhat should surgical professionals consider when purchasing patient positioning products? March 24, 2010 1. Patient Position. There are two main goals necessary when positioning the patient. The first is to provide access to the surgical site. This is reasonably straight forward with modern devices that provide secure positioning while allowing necessary motion specific to the procedure being done.
Risks And Benefits For Physicians Who Use Social Media/Web 2.0
March 23, 2010 7:28 am | CommentsFrom the newsletter of the AMA, AmMed News: "Social media behavior could threaten your physician reputation and job prospects. Less is more." How do you expect doctors to use social media more when they are "bombarded" with headlines like this? There is little on the positive aspects of social media in this particular article although the AmMed News has published some better, more nuanced and balanced, reports on social media use in the past.
Bone-Hard Biomaterial
March 23, 2010 7:28 am | CommentsFootball players, skiers, tennis players – they all fear a crucial ligament rupture. If the knee ligaments are damaged the patient usually has to undergo a surgery to restore the stability of the joint. In the surgical procedure the torn ligament is replaced by a piece of tendon from the leg, which is fixed to the bone by means of an interferential screw.
When Is the Worst Time To Go To The Hospital?
March 22, 2010 6:31 am | by Pauline W. Chen, MD | CommentsDuring staff cutbacks, hiring freezes and every July when a new class of interns hits the wards, hospital workers everywhere ask themselves one question: “When is the worst time to be a patient in the hospital?” That question crossed my mind one morning during my training when an emergency department nurse warned me about a pileup on a nearby interstate involving a school bus.
What Every Medical Student Should Know …
March 19, 2010 7:06 am | by Bruce Campbell, MD | CommentsThe aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values. - William R. Inge “If there was one thing I would have every medical student learn, it would be this …” The woman was talking to her companion while moving down the clinic hallway.
Purchasing Positioning Equipment
March 12, 2010 4:16 am | by Joey Knight, Vice President Sales, US Surgical Workplaces, MAQUET, Inc. | CommentsWhat are the top three considerations surgical professionals should make when purchasing patient positioning products? March 12, 2010 1. Try to achieve the safest patient positioning with the surgical table. It is important to consider the surgical table and its capabilities to achieve special positions.
Ma, Don't Worry
March 11, 2010 2:08 pm | by Liz O'Brien, Medpage Today | CommentsMy grandmother and her hospital roommate -- aged, tiny, frail, and sporting matching bright pink hairnets. They looked like twins -- two thin shrubs in winter that had each sprouted an improbable, big pink rose. Although sick and scared, my grandmother had admired the pink hairnet on the lady in the next bed, so my mother bought her one too, to make her feel better.
Needlestick Prevention In The OR
March 11, 2010 2:08 pm | CommentsEvery day in the OR, surgeons and surgical staff members may be putting themselves at risk for sharps safety injuries. Both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have called for surgical practices to take steps to reduce the risk of suture needlesticks that can transmit disease to surgical professionals 1,2 .
Learning To Keep Patients Safe In A Culture Of Fear
March 11, 2010 1:13 pm | by Pauline W. Chen, M.D. | CommentsOne afternoon during my training, I watched as one of my closest friends, another surgery resident, was led into the office of the department chief. A week earlier she had been on call when a patient developed a rapid and irregular heart rhythm. He became unconscious and would have soon died if my friend had not stepped in and resuscitated him.
Energized Operation
March 11, 2010 1:13 pm | by Amanda McGowan | CommentsHow technology using different forms of energy has helped to increase patient safety and surgeon efficiency in the OR. March 16, 2010 For years in open surgery, surgeons maintained bleeding by clamping bleeding vessels and tying them off with ligatures. Yet, the idea of using heat to stop blood flowing out of an incision can be traced back to Egyptian times, when heated stones were placed on bleeding blood vessels, says Dr.
The Small Things
March 11, 2010 11:59 am | by Bruce Campbell, MD | CommentsThe elderly man came to the San Salvador Lutheran Medical Clinic nearly blind and almost completely deaf. Our interpreter helped me figure out what he wanted. “How can I help you?” we shouted. "I have a cough and get headaches sometimes. Can I get some medicines?” “Sure,” I said.
Surgery Through A Single Port
March 11, 2010 11:58 am | by Amanda McGowan | CommentsSurgeons have made great advances in developing single port surgery. Still, questions remain with regard to the impact the technique has in improving surgical care, leaving some surgeons to speculate that there is an even better technique on the horizon. March 15, 2010 When Italian surgeon Giuseppe Navarra, MD wrote the first reports of a gall bladder surgery performed through a single port in 1997, he discussed why he thought the technique would not go any further.
Instrument Design Is A Touchy Subject
March 10, 2010 7:10 am | CommentsTactile experiences have played a role in how we evaluate products since the early phases of man’s evolution. It’s especially important in surgery, where an instrument’s tactile properties are essential the surgeon’s ability to use it comfortably and safely … March 10, 2010 By Jeff Kapec, Principal & Executive Vice President, Tanaka Kapec Design Group Designing for touch goes hand in hand with overall industrial design process Every product creates a sensory experience for the user.
