Letters: Perioperative nurses are your advocates during surgery

Perioperative registered nurses are working hard to protect you — our patients — when you are most vulnerable. We provide specialized nursing care to surgical patients before, during and after surgery.

If you or someone you love has had surgery, a perioperative registered nurse was directly responsible for your well-being throughout the operation. While the surgeon, anesthesia provider, surgical assistant and other assistive personnel are all focused on their specific duty, the perioperative registered nurse focuses on the patient for the duration of the procedure.

Each year I renew my commitment to be my patients’ advocate and to provide safe patient care by following the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses’ evidence-based guidelines.

The next time you or a family member is a surgical patient, ask us about what we do to keep patients safe.

This story was originally published November 27, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Letters: Perioperative nurses are your advocates during surgery."