Meeting OR Standards in the Evolving Interventional Procedure Room and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Interventional radiological suites meet the definition of interventional perioperative centers based on the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORNs). The demands for meeting the AORN perioperative standards and recommendations for practice impact every radiological interventional suite in the nation. The evolution of the procedure room to interventional perioperative suite requires physicians, staff, and administrators to embrace this changing arena of patient care to meet the recognized and expected level of staff knowledge and skills, staffing levels, and patient safety. Evaluation of staffing needs and mix determines the orientation needs to be applied to all present staff and new staff that will work in these areas. Interventional perioperative centers are found in (1) angiographic suites, (2) cardiac catheterization laboratories, (3) computed tomography procedural areas, (4) ultrasonography procedural areas, and (5) magnetic resonance procedural areas as well as others. Staff, managers, and administrators are challenged to meet the interventional perioperative standards and recommendations for patient care delivery through comprehensive orientation and skills validation.