|Slideshows|October 21, 2015

Slide Show: The Perioperative RN's Role in Antimicrobial Stewardship and Preventing SSI

This slide show, courtesy of AORN, outlines the critical role that perioperative RNs play in ensuring sound antimicrobial stewardship at every point throughout a patient’s surgical care and driving adherence to actions that can prevent surgical site infection. Antibiotic administration is part of daily practice in the perioperative setting and it is the perioperative RN who has the power to ensure safe use of antimicrobials-including antibiotics-whether provided as prophylaxis or to treat healthcare-acquired infections such as surgical site infections (SSIs). In fact, SSIs are the No. 1 reason for surgical readmissions. Resistance is making these deadly infections more and more difficult to treat, while also creating significant financial loss to hospitals in lost reimbursement.


Related to this article

Donald Sipp, Jr, MBA, RESE, CHESP, CHTI-2, CMIP, PMP, and David Green  (Image credit: author)
“Cutting” waste shouldn’t mean cutting people. At AHE Exchange26, David Green and Donald Sipp explored how EVS departments can improve performance by strengthening workplace culture, empowering employees, eliminating inefficient processes, and understanding EVS’s critical role in patient throughput. One case study showed bed turnaround times falling from nearly 2 hours to less than an hour, but the larger lesson wasn't simply about speed. High-performing EVS operations begin with a strong foundation.
Infection preventionists in full PPE with children in DRC.  (Image credit: author with AI)
Nearly 4 months into the DRC's Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak, some indicators suggest transmission may be slowing. But shifting hotspots, treatment-center capacity problems, community deaths, and incomplete surveillance data show why national case totals alone cannot determine whether containment has been achieved.