A new opportunity for volunteering has emerged. As the need for qualified anesthesia providers in developing areas of the world increases, there is a great need for anesthesia education in Sierra Leone (western Africa). I am working with Johns Hopkins University and Health Volunteers Overseas with this project to educate CRNAs. If you are motivated to [...]
Topic Of The Week
Hello everyone. I want to tell all of you about another exciting opportunity for us to pay it forward. Earlier in the year, I wrote an article about volunteerism. My first opportunity to teach other nurses anesthesia education outside of the United States was in Eritrea (Eastern Africa). Now I am honored to have another [...]
In the Army, one is often tasked to do a job that most consider undesirable (i.e. 20 push-ups in full combat gear, pulling weeds in the parking lot in full combat gear, or painting the commander’s office in full combat gear); at the completion of said task the assigning officer or Drill Sergeant may state [...]
New patient safety guidelines require increased vigilance in handwashing by healthcare providers. Previous guidelines established by OSHA required soap and water handwashing between every patient contact. Over the past few years, alcohol based handwashing agents have been introduced to the hospital setting raising the question about their efficacy and risk. An article By Gina Pugliese, [...]
Same Song Different Verse – If It Wasn’t Documented….. Consider for a moment, that you or a colleague is facing legal action that, on the face of things, appears absurd. How absurd? Well, think for a moment about the first time that you learned how to place an intravenous (IV) line. The first thing that [...]
In earlier articles, I discussed some basics about medical malpractice. Now I want to briefly review some defenses to negligence. Keep in mind that all negligence claims are not credible; and even if a credible claim exists, there are many avenues to resolution. If the required elements of negligence are present and cannot be contested, [...]
Every year the last full week in January is designated as National Nurse Anesthetist week. This is our opportunity to capture media coverage and let the world know who we are and what we do. PROCRNA.com encourages you to offer “CRNA for a day” to your local nursing school. Welcome students at the head of [...]
Submitted by Pamela Chambers, MSN, CRNA, EJD Click here for Lex Terrae consulting As we all know, legislative bodies enact the laws that we must all abide by – whether we are aware of them or not. Ignorance of the law is rarely a defense to violating it, whereas professions set their own standards of [...]
Radiation exposure has long been a concern to Radiologists and their assistants. Lead aprons, thyroid shields and more recently leaded eyeware have reduced their exposure to radiation. Anesthetists are frequently assigned to sedate / anesthetize patients in the interventional radiology suite. Like the Radiologist, the anesthetist is exposed to radiation danger. In a study by [...]
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation is committed to the safe and reliable administration of every anesthetic. An area of concern has been respiratory depression in the immediate postoperative period secondary to narcotic administration. The following information comes directly from the foundation; The APSF believes that clinically significant, drug-induced respiratory depression in the postoperative period remains [...]
