Essential resource for mastering perioperative nursing standards and best practices
This updated edition serves as a comprehensive on-boarding and training guide for new and experienced perioperative staff, offering clear, evidence-based instruction grounded in the latest AORN guidelines. Designed for rapid, on-the-job reference, this pocket-guide sized resource offers information on patient preparation, sterile technique, instrumentation, and emergency procedures while reinforcing core safety and workflow standards. With new chapters on team well-being and emerging technologies, along with expanded teaching tools to support preceptors and educators, it equips perioperative nurses and surgical technologists with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed for consistent, high-quality practice.
What’s New
Expanded content on future OR technologies and innovations
New chapter on self-care and burnout prevention for surgical teams
Updated standards based on latest AORN guidelines
New end-of-chapter study questions with rationales
Enhanced case studies for academic and clinical orientation
Key Features
Covers perioperative essentials from preparation to emergency care
Supports CNOR certification and lifelong learning objectives
Includes Fast Facts boxes, tables, and reflective questions
Authored by a leading perioperative nurse educator and administrator
Theresa Criscitelli, EdD, RN, CNOR, NE-BC is a doctorally prepared nurse who has spent 26 years working in the operating room. Her career began as a certified surgical technologist when she learned to scrub in on an array of surgical specialties, including neurosurgery, orthopedics, and cardiothoracic open-heart surgery. She completed her nursing degree in order to care for surgical patients as their advocate and to be able to obtain other positions in the perioperative area that could help influence patient outcomes. She has held numerous positions in the perioperative setting as a registered nurse, including staff nurse, assistant nurse manager, nurse educator, director of perioperative education, assistant director of professional nursing practice and education, assistant vice president of perioperative and procedural services, as well as senior director of perioperative and procedural services. Dr. Criscitelli is currently working in administration as vice president of perioperative services and oversees the perioperative operations and financial aspects at a suburban hospital in New York. She also serves as adjunct nursing professor at three colleges and was a clinical instructor in a surgical technology program. She participates with clinical research and continues to mentor students and staff.
