Standards of Perioperative Clinical Practice in Laser Medicine and Surgery

Standards are authoritative statements by which the nursing profession describes the responsibilities for which its practitioners are accountable. Therefore, standards reflect the values and priorities of the profession and provide direction for professional nursing practice and a framework for evaluation of this practice.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) in collaboration with numerous specialty nursing organizations and groups developed a master model called Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice and published it in 1991. In 1992, the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) published the "Standards of Perioperative Clinical Practice" and "Standards of Perioperative Professional Performance" using the ANA model. In 1994, the Nursing/Allied Health division of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery adopted the "Standards of Perioperative Clinical Practice in Laser Medicine and Surgery" using these two publications as models.

The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery is a dynamic, professional association, dedicated to the exploration and application of laser technology to medicine and surgery. The goal is to ensure the optimum in quality patient care during laser treatment. It is the responsibility of the Nursing/Allied Health division of the Society to formulate standards for reference by clinical nurses and allied health care providers to be used to assist in the establishment of safe, effective laser services in hospitals and other health care settings.

The "Standards of Perioperative Clinical Practice in Laser Medicine and Surgery" consist of "Standards of Care" and "Standards of Professional Performance" which include the following:

Standards of Care
Assessment Diagnosis
Outcome Identification
Planning Implementation
Evaluation
Standards of Professional Performance
Quality of Care
Performance Appraisal
Education
Collegiality
Ethics
Collaboration
Research
Resource Utilization