Perioperative Nurses Week

The Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada (ORNAC) is honoured to recognize the contributions of perioperative nurses to patient care. Perioperative Nurses Week is November 8 - 14, 2009. This is the time to recognize and acknowledge all perioperative registered nursing colleagues across Canada.

The theme for the 2009 Perioperative Nurses Week is:
Patient safety - the corner stone of perioperative nursing practice

Perioperative registered nurses have a major role in caring for and protecting patients. We are the health care professional who has the closest and most contact with the patient during their surgical experience. Perioperative registered nurses promote patient safety at the individual and organizational levels - effectively influencing the "culture of safety".

Take this time to connect with colleagues - new and seasoned - as team work and collaboration between all health professionals is essential to ensure high quality clinical care. Patient care given by any one professional on their own can never be as good as care given by a full team. Through collaboration with our surgical team colleagues, we can enact the blueprint "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

Please commend yourself for continually striving for excellence in patient care and remember "a vital component for the safety of the patient is YOU".

Happy Perioperative Nurses Week!!

Bonnie McLeod - President, ORNAC