Managing operating room budget variances.

Credibility, power, and the ability to obtain greater departmental resources are three benefits of managing the operating room (OR) department's operating budget effectively. Still, few resources exist to help novice as well as seasoned OR directors grapple with the practicalities of maintaining their budget after the annual budget process is completed. The authors examine how astutely controlling personnel, materials, and services budget variances will result in hospital administrators "hearing" and approving an OR director's requests for resources more readily, staff and physicians who enjoy the benefits of better-staffed services and new technology, and an OR director with a reputation as an effective department head among peers in the hospital.

The operating room director: functions and responsibilities.

Do you supervise the operating room (OR) director in your hospital? Are you thinking of applying for an OR director's position? Or are you in the process of clarifying your role as the OR director with your boss? If so, read these authors' analysis of one OR director's role in a large, teaching hospital. Not only will you learn about the functions one OR director performs to lead a 37 million dollar revenue-producing corporate division, but also you will get an appreciation for the pace, complexity, rewards, and dilemmas of such a position.

Cover gowns. Researching their effectiveness.

1. Bacterial colony counts on the right shoulder of the subject's scrub suits were lower after lunch when a. cover gowns were worn over scrub suits outside the OR during lunch, and b. when fresh scrub suits were put on after lunch. 2. Bacterial colony counts were higher after lunch when a. scrub suits were worn without cover gowns outside the OR during lunch, and b. when they were removed before lunch, stored in a locker, and put on again after lunch. 3. The thigh region can be assumed to be dirtier than the shoulder area on scrub suits. From this study, the researchers concluded that wearing cover gowns outside the OR exerts a protective effect against bacterial contamination as determined by samples taken from the right shoulder. Furthermore, this protective effect is comparable to that seen when subjects changed into fresh scrub suits after lunch.

The operating room. A complex challenge for the nursing administrator.

The authors of this article show why nursing administrators need to be familiar with the complex operating room (OR) environment. They describe the management milieu in this high revenue-producing area of the hospital, and offer helpful suggestions for solving or at least ameliorating a number of problems that challenge OR directors and administrators.