AORN updates its guidelines annually, and each year brings critical revisions designed to address emerging evidence, close safety gaps, and respond to new challenges. Here are some of the most significant recent and upcoming updates.
She had seen this happen once before, ten years ago. A misfiled lot number, a recalled batch of muscle relaxant, a patient who stopped breathing post-op and never started again. The AORN Guideline on medication safety wasn't just a list—it was a ghost story. Verify. Label. Trace. Re-verify.
Counts must occur before the incision, when new items are added, before closing a cavity, and at final skin closure.
While compliance is voluntary, these guidelines are considered the gold standard and are often used as the basis for hospital policies and legal standards. aorn guidelines for perioperative practice
The AORN Guidelines for Perioperative Practice are a collection of evidence-based recommendations designed to guide perioperative nursing practice.
Sarah didn't look up. She was reviewing the sterilization log for the craniotomy kit. "What about the pneumatic tourniquet?"
Protocols for cleaning and disinfecting operating rooms between patients (turnover cleaning) and at the end of each day (terminal cleaning). AORN updates its guidelines annually, and each year
The physical OR environment requires meticulous maintenance to suppress airborne and surface pathogens.
If you want, I can (pick one)
Ensure the facility provides the necessary tools mandated by guidelines, such as dedicated smoke evacuators, ergonomic positioning devices, and approved PPE. Conclusion A misfiled lot number, a recalled batch of
Gone are the days of flipping through a three-ring binder. The current access point is , a cloud-based platform that includes:
: Specific time and technique requirements for surgical hand antisepsis.
Standardized implementation of the Universal Protocol to prevent wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person surgery.