Planning a collaborative conference to provide interdisciplinary education with a focus on patient safety in obstetrics.

Collaboration is an important component of evidence-based practice in modern health care. A number of publications have touted the benefits of "team training" to improve obstetric outcomes during emergent situations. In August 2011, the Ohio sections of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) held a joint conference that focused on interdisciplinary education to promote patient safety.

Implementing an induction scheduling procedure and consent form to improve quality of care.

Inappropriate elective inductions of labor put patients at increased risk of cesarean, neonatal morbidity, and elevated cost. A scheduling procedure and consent form were implemented to eliminate elective induction at less than 39 weeks gestation and align indications for induction with American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines. In 25 of the 28 months following implementation of the new process, we achieved the goal of eliminating elective induction of labor at less than 39 weeks gestation.

A performance improvement process to tackle tachysystole.

Inappropriate use of oxytocin is an important patient safety issue. In this article, the authors describe success in "tackling tachysystole" using an evidence-based algorithm for oxytocin administration. Monthly audits (N = 1160) reached 100% compliance.

Vaginal evisceration during intraperitoneal chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer.

Background: Recent studies have established that intraperitoneal chemotherapy is associated with improved outcomes compared with intravenous treatment in patients with advanced, optimally cytoreduced ovarian cancer, but at the expense of increased toxicity. We present a case of vaginal evisceration during intraperitoneal chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer.

Case: Following an optimal cytoreduction including total hysterectomy for advanced ovarian cancer, a 63-year-old woman underwent intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Progestin only contraceptives and their use in adolescents: clinical options and medical indications.

Some adolescents use progestin only contraceptive products because of an underlying medical condition; others simply prefer them. Current options include pills, a long -acting intramuscular injection, an implant, and a progestin-releasing intrauterine device. Also available is Plan B, a progestin only emergency contraceptive option.