Discover what makes perioperative nurses so special

[caption id="attachment_40307" align="alignright" width="156"] WP_Headshot_EileenWilliamson Eileen Williamson, RN[/caption] As nurses, most of us can recall the hospital tours during our first clinical days and the excitement we felt walking from floor to floor, unit to unit, seeing who worked where and what they were doing. Few stops along the way, however, held more interest or intrigue than the OR. What was happening behind those big double doors? And what was it like to work there? Whether called the operating room, the surgical suite or the perioperative area, we knew there were lots of RNs behind those doors working in many different roles with patients before, during and after surgery. As sub-specialties, procedures and surgical techniques grew over the years, so too did the perioperative nursing specialty, and today it's still a popular practice area and holds interest for many nursing students. Moreover, for those who enter the big doors and pursue the specialty, it's proven to be a rewarding career. According to AORN, the professional nursing organization for perioperative nurses, more than 160,000 perioperative RNs are working in the U.S. and more than 40,000 of them belong to AORN. Whether they work in the neurosurgical, orthopedic, urological, oncological, cardiac or any one of the countless other sub-, perioperative nurses are valued and admired for the crucial roles they play in surgical patients' care and well-being. Before, during and after surgery, perioperative nursing forms the perfect care continuum for patients, and we salute these nurses.