Perioperative Nursing

Perioperative Nursing 2e has been written by local leaders in perioperative nursing and continues to deliver a contemporary, practical text for Australian and New Zealand perioperative nurses.

Appropriate for nursing students and graduates entering the perioperative environment, Perioperative Nursing, 2e offers a sound foundational knowledge base to underpin a perioperative nursing career. This unique text will also be of value to those undertaking postgraduate perioperative studies, as well as to more experienced perioperative nurses seeking to refresh their knowledge or expand their nursing practice.

This essential title examines the roles and responsibilities of nurses working within a perioperative environment, providing an overview of key concepts in perioperative care. The scope of this book addresses anaesthetic, intraoperative and postanaesthetic recovery care, as well as day surgery and evolving perioperative practices and environments.

Book review by Emma Woodhouse, Manager of Higher Education, Australian College of Nursing (ACN)

"This textbook is an exceptional resource for anyone who is working in the perioperative environment or studying perioperative nursing practice.

The book has been edited by Dr Lois Hamlin, Menna Davies, Dr Marilyn Richardson-Tench and Sally Sutherland-Fraser, all preeminent authors in the field of perioperative nursing with a wealth of clinical and academic expertise. The content covers a wide array of perioperative topics with contributors ranging from registered nurses, clinical nurse educators and consultants to nurses in academic and research roles each of whom have provided a considered insight into perioperative nursing practice. Building on the sterling work in the first edition, the major focus in the second edition is to emphasise the significance of interdisciplinary teamwork, in particular the non-technical and environmental human factors that are vital for effective patient centred care. Cultural capability is interwoven into all of the chapters, as is the needs of special populations.

Other major themes in the book include an overview of the history and future of perioperative nursing, perioperative patient safety, risk management for patients and staff in the perioperative environment, infection prevention and control and the evidence based practice necessary for assessment and preparation of the patient for surgery. Three of the thirteen chapters are dedicated to the nursing care of the patient during anaesthesia, intraoperatively and post anaesthesia with a further chapter devoted to surgical intervention including the phases of surgery, instrumentation and suturing. Another chapter presents the importance of the anatomy and physiology behind post-surgical wound healing highlighting the need for a diligent surgical consciousness.The final chapter fittingly discusses the evolving models of nursing care in perioperative environments outlining the effects of technology on nursing care and the patient’s perioperative experience in more ambulatory settings.Each chapter concludes with a critical thinking exercise relating to the content. These exercises are useful tools for gathering evidence of continuing professional development as part of the requirements for standards for practice by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. They can also provide prompts for reflection upon practice for portfolio building. These exercises increase the appeal of this book from novice to expert clinical nurses, as well as providing useful tools for clinical nurse educators in the perioperative field.

One critical thinking exercise asks the reader to formulate an answer to the often asked question “when are you going to take up real nursing again?” Perioperative nurses who are passionate about their specialty may find this question resonates with their own experiences with colleagues who fail to comprehend the value of their role. This textbook actively promotes the importance of this often undervalued and misunderstood area of nursing specialty.

Perioperative Nursing: An Introduction is used as a prescribed textbook in many of the postgarduate perioperative subjects at the Australian College of Nursing and the recent revision has allowed for closer alignment to some of the topics covered in our specialty electives, especially the instrument/circulating nurse and day surgery units of study. Book review by Dr Sharon Latimer, Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University