Policies and Procedures—Revitalize with the Perioperative Nursing Data Set

Maintaining everyday policies and procedures for a perioperative unit as a dynamic, living and breathing reference remains a challenge. This article suggests one method for revitalizing perioperative documents to reflect current evidence in a standardized language, the Perioperative Nursing Data Set (PNDS). Using the PNDS within a policy/procedure document offers the advantage of integrating patient outcomes, interim outcomes, and interventions with specific activities that can be translated into measurable data. Complete policies and procedures for safe patient transfer and hypothermia are included to illustrate application of the PNDS to practice.