Evaluation of a tiered operating room strategy at an academic centre: comparing high-efficiency and conventional operating rooms.

Background: Wait times for many elective orthopedic surgical procedures in Ontario have become unacceptably long and substantially exceed the recommended guidelines. As a consequence, many patients experience chronic pain, disability and other poor health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test a novel, resource-saving redesign of outpatient operating room (OR) services, based on tiered grouping of surgical cases, to maximize health benefits for patients while improving efficiency and decreasing wait times.

End-of-life simulation: a cross-field evaluation in an undergraduate nursing programme.

Background: Death can cause a great deal of anxiety in nursing students for a variety of reasons. They are expected to provide a high level of care for patients, give the family the respect and patience they deserve and contend with the associated emotional attachments. This raised the question in today's educational world-can the use of technology and simulation aid students in preparing for an end-of-life scenario as part of an undergraduate nursing programme?

Aim: To explore the efficacy of the use of simulations in end-of-life care.

Death cafe in the Welsh valleys-an appraisal.

Background: A death cafe is an event where people drink, eat and discuss death. Death cafes do not follow a set structure and the events are held for free. The mission of death cafes is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'.

How to verify the death of a patient.

When a patient dies, it is important that nurses understand their role in the verification of death. This article explains the steps required to verify the death of an adult patient. Verification of death is not a mechanistic task, but one that requires sensitivity and compassion.

Methodology for Whole-Genome Sequencing of Methicillin-Resistant Isolates in a Routine Hospital Microbiology Laboratory.

There is growing evidence for the value of bacterial whole-genome sequencing in hospital outbreak investigations. Our aim was to develop methods that support efficient and accurate low-throughput clinical sequencing of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) isolates. Using a test panel of 25 MRSA isolates previously associated with outbreak investigations, we devised modifications to library preparation that reduced the processing time by 1 hour.