Ep. 15 – Clearing the Air: The Effects of Surgical Smoke - Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO

December 7, 2021

On this episode, we got to bring to light a lesser-known and important aspect of the OR—surgical smoke. Special guest, Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, joined us to break down the issue of surgical smoke, discussing the procedures with higher exposure to surgical smoke, the health risks of surgical smoke for nurses, advocating for a smoke-free OR, and more.

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We Discuss

(0:00) An introduction to Vangie and her nursing background
(2:56) What is surgical smoke?
(4:41) High-risk procedures for surgical smoke
(7:13) The health effects of surgical smoke on OR nurses
(14:58) Protecting nurses from surgical smoke
(20:06) Solutions to creating a smoke-free OR environment
(28:02) Advocating for a smoke-free OR as a staff nurse
(32:27) The future of care in the OR

About Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO

Vangie is an independent consultant, speaker, and trainer in the areas of lasers, surgical procedures, advanced technology, and nursing practice. She has lectured nationally and internationally for:

AORN and AORN Chapters
Advanced Technology Specialty Assembly
American Society for Lasers in Medicine and Surgery
The International Laser Safety Conference
Canadian Nurses Association
American Trial Lawyers Association
American Association Gynecological Laparoscopists
MedSun CODA Conference, and
Medical Societies and facilities

Vangie is on the Board of Directors for Laser Institute of America, the chair for the National Certification on Lasers, a committee representative for the American National Standards Institute and serves on the Board of Directors for AORN National.

About the Show

Producer – Jonathan Cary

Assistant Producers – Katie Schrauben & Sam MacKay

Music & Editing – Aidan Dykes