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Dear Perianesthesia Nurses,

On behalf of NPANA and ASPAN, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for the many ways you advance and elevate perianesthesia care. Your dedication to evidence-based practice, lifelong learning, mentorship, leadership, and advocacy continues to move our specialty forward and shape the future of safe, high-quality perioperative and perianesthesia nursing.

During Perianesthesia Nurses Awareness Week (PANAW) 2026, we pause to recognize and celebrate you—the nurses who stand at the bedside during some of the most vulnerable moments in a patient’s journey. Your presence during these moments carries immense responsibility, trust, and impact.

Perianesthesia nursing is a specialty defined by vigilance, expertise, and compassion. Whether you are preparing patients before surgery, closely monitoring them as they emerge from anesthesia, managing complex airways and pain, or offering reassurance to patients and families, your work is essential. Much of what you do happens quietly and without recognition, yet it is foundational to patient safety and recovery.

What makes perianesthesia nursing truly extraordinary is the way you combine advanced clinical skill with calm presence, critical thinking, and genuine human connection. You advocate for patient safety, respond decisively when seconds matter, and deliver care with professionalism and heart—every single day.

This week, and always, we honor your commitment to excellence, your teamwork, your resilience, and the pride you bring to this specialty. Thank you for the long shifts, the constant assessments, the rapid interventions, the quiet reassurances, and the leadership you provide within the perioperative setting.

Because of you, patients awaken safely, families feel supported, and standards of care continue to rise.

With sincere appreciation and respect,

Tristan Utech

President, 2025–2026

Northwest Perianesthesia Nursing Association (NPANA)

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