One week per year, Perioperative Nursing is celebrated in hospitals and surgery centers across the country. Established by the House of Delegates of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in 1979, this is a special time to celebrate and champion perioperative nurses for their excellence in nursing practice and dedication to the care of surgical patients. I am proud to recognize my colleagues for the vital role they fill in their patient’s life and applaud their strength and resilience in challenging times.
The role of the perioperative nurse has evolved dramatically along with the innovations and technology utilized in the care of surgical patients. In 1873 there were three schools established for nursing training with the Bellevue School lecturing on Surgical Instruments, Preparation for Operation, Bandaging, and Hemostasis. In 1889 the first dedicated operating room nurse was employed in the United States at Johns Hopkins Hospital and OR nursing became the first area of specialization identified in the nursing field.
The role of the operating room nurse looked quite different in the early days of the profession. Operating room duties included ensuring that all instruments, sponges, dressings and the water used in an operation were sterilized. Nurses prepared themselves the morning of an operation by taking a hot carbolic bath. Student nurses scrubbed the walls, lights, and floors upon completion of the operation. In addition to cleaning the operating room, duties included winding and sterilizing spools of catgut; testing, drying, powdering, and packaging gloves; counting gauze swabs into packs of five; polishing instr
uments and soaking them in “instrument milk”; and folding linen.
Today, perioperative nursing represents the care not only during surgery but across all stages – preoperative, intra-operative and post-operative. The surgical environment has become increasingly complex and specialized requiring the perioperative nurse to possess a unique combination of technical, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills that are essential to ensuring safe and effective surgical procedures. Perioperative nursing means being a patient advocate when they cannot speak for themselves and making a difference in the lives of patients and families. Being a perioperative nurse is something unique and special that separates you from others.
Corazon would like to recognize and celebrate perioperative nurses for their dedication and commitment to the profession of nursing and safely caring for all surgical patients. Thank you for your hard work!
