AORN journal
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As a result of new regulatory requirements and consumer demands for optimal health care, a focus on patient safety is even more important. In 2001, a corporate patient safety project was initiated by managers at one facility's six hospital-based perioperative suites. Although each suite had its own policies and procedures, no formal assessment of compliance with policies existed. ⋯ The assessment included a tool, a questionnaire, and an assessment process. After being tested at one facility, perioperative safety assessments were performed in the organization's six ORs and two ambulatory surgery centers. Best practices then were shared across the system.
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Nursing performance, or the skills a nurse exhibits in practice, is limited by the extent or level of a nurse's knowledge base; hence, the expression "nurses are what nurses do" probes nurses' levels of satisfaction with their present educational status. Given the rapid changes in health care today, nurses are questioning their level of commitment to lifelong learning in meeting ever-changing demands. This article examines measures being taken to assess the adequacy of nurses' knowledge base in a field that requires continuous adaptation to change.