AORN Journal

Periop Briefing interviewed Victoria McLean, BSN, RN, CNOR, staff nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts, and Eileen Cicchese, BSN, RN, CNOR, staff nurse at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, about reducing patient anxiety through a simulated surgery experience.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70091

Solutions at Work: Surgery Simulation Program Helps Reduce Anxiety for Pediatric Patients

Like many health care settings, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is increasing. Applications include facilitating patient selection, predicting “no-show” patients, verifying intraoperative patient information, providing decision support, monitoring patients postoperatively, and offering health guidance.

However, the use of AI has raised concerns. The “misuse of AI chatbots in healthcare” placed first on the ECRI’s list of the top 10 technology hazards for 2026. Issues associated with chatbots and other large language models include incorrect responses to clinical questions and exacerbation of existing health disparities because of biases embedded in training data.

To learn more about the current and future use of AI in the ASC environment, the AORN Journal spoke with Jessica Rodriguez, MBA, CASC, executive director for Orthopedic Associates of Michigan (OAM) Surgery Center at MidTowne in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70096

Article: ASC INSIGHTS Artificial Intelligence in the Ambulatory Surgery Center

Authors: Cynthia Saver, MS, RN

Variability in onboarding experiences and extended orientation timelines have prompted enhancements to the existing perioperative orientation pathway.

This study reports on a revised program incorporating defined pathways, hands-on skills training, enhanced preceptor support, structured communication, and intentional socialization.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70087

Article: Setting the Stage for Surgical Success: Enhancing the Perioperative Orientation Program

Authors: Alisa Jaganjac, MSN, RN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN; Kattia Taveras, BSN, RN, CNOR; Melissa Moiso, MSN, RN, CNOR ; Eleni Manaloto, BSN, RN, CNOR; and Chantelle Livingstone, MSN, RN, CNOR

During multiple concurrent procedures on a patient, using one combined running count may reduce the risk of addition or subtraction errors and allow the perioperative team to validate that items have not been retained in the patient.

The AORN “Guideline for the prevention of unintentionally retained surgical items” conditionally recommends that perioperative teams count all items together during the final count when the operative or other invasive procedure involves multiple procedures or sterile fields. The recommendation further clarifies that perioperative teams should maintain sterile technique when counting items used during operative or other invasive procedures for which multiple procedures are performed or sterile fields are used.

For more guidance on preventing retained surgical items during procedures with multiple sterile fields, read this month’s Clinical Issues.
https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70085

Author: Zach Swartz, MHI, BSN, RN, EBP-C, CNOR

DID YOU KNOW? The use of a clean borescope can reveal otherwise hard-to-identify defects.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70070

This Guideline at a Glance highlights important elements of the full guideline for the AORN Guideline for local-only anesthesia and includes images, implementation steps, and the rationale for why these steps are important to promote safety and optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70089

A perioperative department expansion at a large urban academic tertiary center in the southwestern United States necessitated the hiring of additional perioperative personnel. The OR department planning team identified onboarding capacity gaps and developed an education champion project to facilitate onboarding efforts alongside the perioperative nurse educators.

This article details the development, implementation, outcomes, and implications of the updated onboarding process.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70078

Article: Enhancing Perioperative Onboarding Through an Education Champion Project

Authors: Oluponle O. Olubajo, PhD, RN, CNOR, CNML; Andrea Thorp, MSN, RN; Caitlin Oless, BSN, RN; Carol Ritchie, MSN, RN, CNOR; Jessica Charles, DNP, MSN, RN, NE-BC; and Jennifer Berry, MSN, RN, CNRN

Frustrated with your preceptor? Get yelled at during a case? Anxious about your first time being on call? The Masked Maven is here to provide you with expert advice to help you navigate your first few years in the OR.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70082

Article: Where Should You Grow? A Nurse’s Guide to Workplace Fit

Authors: Jill Graham, BSN, RN

The need to provide care to increasing numbers of patients for both access and economic reasons, combined with chronic staffing limitations, has created intense pressure on health care organizations and the people employed to provide care.

The overall result is an entrenched culture of individual priorities in job performance rather than well-coordinated teamwork. These conditions set the stage for staff burnout, reduced staff retention, and avoidable patient harm.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70086

GUEST EDITORIAL: Reduce Burnout, Improve Safety and Efficiency: Consider Prosocial Behavior

Authors: Jeffrey Feldman, MD, MSE, FASA; Ramona Houmanfar, PhD ; Mary Fearon, MSN, RN; John M. Flynn, MD; Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD; Stuart Libman, MD; Caoimhe Duffy, MD, MSc, CPPS, FCAI; Lisa Spruce, DNP, RN, CNOR, CNS-CP, EBP-C, APRN, FAAN; and Della Lin, MD, MS, FASA

Periop Briefing interviewed Jillian Carratala, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, director of nursing for surgical services at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center, Summit, New Jersey, about using text messages to improve communication and boost patient satisfaction scores.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70071

Solutions At Work: Automated Text Messages Boost Patient Satisfaction Scores