Discharge of an outpatient surgical patient to home implies that the patient is clinically stable and capable, to some degree, of self-care. Nurses currently have no formal evidence-based clinical criteria to assist them in determining outpatient surgical patients' readiness for discharge to home. Nurses often make discharge decisions based on their education, experience, and personal beliefs. The goal of this quality improvement project was to identify specific factors that outpatient surgery nurses consider in assessing readiness of patients for discharge. The results were used to develop orientation and educational programs for outpatient surgery staff members and were incorporated into a patient discharge assessment checklist.

Stress is a factor that affects nurses on a daily basis and can result in nurses' absenteeism, hostility, and aggression, as well as reduced productivity and efficiency. One hospital in Northeast Florida conducted a quality improvement project with perioperative nurses to determine which of the work situations they encounter are perceived as most stressful and the frequency with which these situations occur. Results from the survey showed that the majority of perioperative nurses found situations that fall into the category "crisis on the job" were the most stressful but occurred least frequently. Many interpersonal relationship factors were identified as stressful, and items in this category occurred frequently.