Message from the President
Passion and Excellence:
Growing, Learning, and Leading Together
January/February 2025
Welcome to the New Year 2025! The year 2024 has flown by and so many wonderful things have been happening in ASPAN. I remember starting off in January, preparing for not only the 2024 ASPAN National Conference but looking ahead to the 2025 National Conference. There are so many people behind the scenes working to ensure an excellent conference experience.
In addition, teams of ASPAN members have been working for the last couple of years to update and bring new and revised editions of ASPAN and Elsevier publications for our perianesthesia nursing practice. The new 2025 – 2026 ASPAN Perianesthesia Nursing Standards, Practice Recommendations, and Interpretative Statements is now available. Also available now on the ASPAN website is the 2024 Redi-Ref for Perianesthesia Practice, 6th edition, in a handy reference pocket guide. The 2024 edition of Competency-Based Orientation for the Registered Nurse and Pain Management in the Perianesthesia Setting was introduced at the 2024 ASPAN National Conference.
ASPAN has worked with Elsevier to update the ASPAN: Mosby’s Orientation in Perianesthesia Nursing. Another excellent resource is ASPAN’s Ambulatory Surgical Nursing, 1st Edition, published by Elsevier. These are just the most recent publications. You can find more publications on the ASPAN and Elsevier websites. Thank you to all the ASPAN contributing authors and editors for these excellent perianesthesia nursing resources. There are more updates and revisions coming soon, so stay tuned.
ASPAN provides top-notch perianesthesia education. Our teams have been working to expand education in a variety of topics relevant to our specialty practice. We have education teams keeping the information updated, providing education across the country with diverse options to obtain education, such as in-person webinars with full-day, half-day, and two-hour options. There are options to obtain free contact hours by reading articles in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing (JoPAN). PeriAnesthesia Certification Review seminars and Virtual Certification Study Group sessions have been successful in assisting perianesthesia nurses in passing the CPAN/CAPA exams. Stay tuned for more information on upcoming education free to members during PeriAnesthesia Nurses Awareness Week.
All the committees, strategic work teams, and specialty practice groups have done amazing work advancing the unique specialty of perianesthesia nursing. Their work in advocacy, legislation, collaboration with other groups, mentoring leaders, membership recruitment and engagement, finance, policies, development, and certification promotions are what make a difference in perianesthesia nursing. Many of our groups work together on standards, clinical practice, and clinical inquiry that make a difference in the lives of our patients, families, and nursing colleagues across the country. I would like to personally thank everyone in these groups and our amazing ASPAN Board of Directors for all your hard work and dedication.
It takes a team and good teamwork. Merriam-Webster defines teamwork as “work done by a group acting together so that each member does a part that contributes to the efficiency of the whole.”1 I love this quote by Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”2 I encourage each of you to share your passion and excellence in your perianesthesia practice and let’s grow, learn, and lead together in this new year.
REFERENCES
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Definition of teamwork. https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teamwork Accessed 12/1/24.
- Lash J. Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy. AFP Press. 1980.
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