Evacuating surgical smoke in the operating room protects patients and perioperative
teams from the hazards associated with inhaling surgical smoke. States have passed
bills mandating health care facilities and ambulatory surgery centers adopt policies
to evacuate surgical smoke. We use a 5-step process for identifying options to reduce
exposure to the harmful toxins found in surgical smoke and recommend executive nurse
leaders collaborate with states and professional organizations to pursue smoke evacuation
legislation. This strategy empowers executive nurse leaders and perioperative teams
to work with professional organizations and state legislators to reduce exposure to
the harmful health hazards associated from surgical smoke.
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Biography
Rebecca Vortman, DNP, RN, CNOR, is clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing in Springfield, Illinois. She can be reached at [email protected] Janet Thorlton, PhD, MS, RN, is clinical associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing in Champaign, Illinois.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2020
Accepted:
October 20,
2020
Received:
October 2,
2020
Footnotes
Note: The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest. The authors received no financial support for research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Identification
Copyright
2020 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
