The second week of February is dedicated to the work of perianesthesia nurses. Perianesthesia nurses specialize in helping or caring for patients who are entering or recovering from anesthesia. These nurses help many patients and families all the time and deal with normal and adverse reactions to sedation multiple times a day. They are extremely passionate about the work they do, which is why, this week, the American Association of Perianesthesia Nurses, is stressing the importance of celebrating the exceptional work practiced by these nurses.
Ways to Celebrate
Before you plan to start any of these ideas, try and organize a small team to help you assemble and organize any of these different suggestions, as it will make them a lot easier to prepare. Most of these ideas are also geared toward a work environment, though they can be altered to fit anywhere you would like:
- Inform fellow employees or friends of what this week represents and about the important work perianesthesia nurses practice in advance. This can be through email, publications and/or newsletters.
- Introduce ASPAN literature, which can be attained by using this email- dhanisch@aspan.org, and/or PANWA products, which can be found here, to the workplace.
- Organize a meal or offer snacks and dessert to celebrate. You can even try something different every day of the week.
- Plan a special event or celebration.
If you do incorporate any of these ideas in your workplace this week, ASPAN asks that you email any pictures of the event to the Breathline editor, Barb Godden, at bgodden@aspan.org. The pictures could also end up being featured in a future issue of Breathline. If you would like to learn more, visit the ASPAN website here.
Remember to spread awareness of this special week and to thank perianesthesia nurses today!
Sources:
American Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. (2019). PeriAnesthesia Nurse Awareness Week February 4-10, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.aspan.org/Events/PANAW.
Johnson & Johnson Nursing. (2018). Perianesthesia Nurse. Retrieved from: https://nursing.jnj.com/specialty/perianesthesia-nurse.
Wikipedia. (2018). Perianesthesia nursing. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perianesthesia_nursing.