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Battle Post-op Pain Without Opioids - April 2016 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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It's not difficult to find healthcare workers who are surprised to learn about the hazards of surgical smoke. You see a lot of young peo- ple working in ORs, after all, and they may not have been exposed to the education, or the long-term effects, that long-term employees have. And if you've been breathing in surgical smoke for a long enough time, you might not realize the cumulative toll that the unpleasant scent you've learned to endure has taken on your respira- tory health. But it's unimaginable that any healthcare worker who's been told what we know about surgical smoke wouldn't be concerned about its hazards. Besides the charred-flesh odor, we're also facing toxic gases, some of them carcinogenic. Inhaling the smoke from 1 gram of burned tissue has been equated to smoking 6 unfiltered cigarettes in 15 minutes. The smoke has the potential to carry and transmit infec- tious bacteria and viral DNA. This particulate matter ends up in our 8 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 6 The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is set to launch a surgical smoke- free recognition program called "Go Clear" (osmag.net/hWYNy7). Facilities that achieve a sur- gical smoke-free environment can earn a designation that certifies their commitment to employ- ee and patient safety. The Go Clear campaign, sponsored by Medtronic through the AORN Foundation, is scheduled to launch late this summer and run for 3 years. "What we're doing is a national collaboration, an incentive to follow the recommended prac- tices and guidelines," says Brenda Ulmer, RN, MN, CNOR, a healthcare consultant and surgical smoke safety educator from Snellville, Ga., who worked with AORN to develop the program. By providing facilities with the tools to analyze gaps in their practices, develop policies and conduct education, AORN hopes to help administrators, physicians and staff to "make evidence- based decisions instead of just having a vague knowledge and understanding," she says. — David Bernard SURGICAL SMOKEOUT "Go Clear" With AORN's Smoke Safety Initiative

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