AORN eGUIDELINES+ and Accreditation Assistant Now Available for UT Health San Antonio
The UT Health San Antonio Libraries has acquired the AORN eGuidelines+ and Accreditation Assistant produced by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN).
What are the AORN eGUIDELINES?
This full-text digital resource is a critical clinical resource for UT Health San Antonio’s growing clinical enterprise which includes the UT Multispecialty & Research Hospital, the Mays Cancer Center, UT Health Physicians, UT Dentistry Clinical Operations, UT School of Nursing, and Clinical Residents.
Our subscription offers the entire UT Health San Antonio community 24/7 access to the full-text of all guidelines produced by AORN, which includes a wide variety of integrated tools and resources that serve clinicians and clinical teams.
Accessing the Guidelines
With a User ID and password, library users can access AORN+ from the library website.
Individual users also have the option to set up a personal User ID and password on the AORN site which allows the individual to customize their settings, bookmark content, and access the guidelines from your phone or tablet using the AORN mobile app.
To schedule an instructional session or consultation to learn more about this resource, contact your liaison librarian.
Overview of Features
In addition to the guidelines, you’ll get access to implementation tools and clinical resources. Inside AORN you’ll have access to 9 sections, including:
- GUIDELINES – An A to Z list of all guidelines. The book view is the comprehensive guideline while the quick view serves as quick reference with highlights.
- AT-A-GLANCE – All the AORN guidelines sorted into 7 broad categories such as Anesthesia, Aseptic Technique, Emergencies, Instruments, and Medications.
- VETTED LINKS – Links to services and products related to procedures in action, infection control, and operating room efficiency.
- TOOLS – Links to AORN Journals and tools such as case studies, checklists, calculators, policy and procedure templates, sample documents, implementation road maps, gap analysis and audit tools, webinars, and in-service PowerPoints.
- FAQs – This section features information on 36 FAQ topics.
- SPECIALITIES – This section offers resources in 8 specialty areas.
- ACCREDITATION ASSISTANT – This added feature offers links to the standards of the Joint Commission and the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc. which will support UTHSA clinicians preparing for accreditation.
- DEVICES – Clinicians can use this section to search for equipment and suppliers or to seek device video instructions.
- CINEMED – Provides links to videos and is expected to be released in February 2025 for new subscribers like UTHSA.
More about the AORN eGUIDELINES
With funding from AORN, the evidence-based guidelines are based on a comprehensive, systematic review of research and non-research evidence, the guidelines are updated on a regular basis providing clinicians with standardized techniques to use facilities-wide in hospitals and clinical settings. According to AORN, all the guidelines “are written by perioperative practice specialists in the AORN Nursing Department who serve as the lead authors of the guidelines. The lead author works collaboratively with members of the AORN Guidelines Advisory Board, including a patient advocate, and Guideline Advisory Board liaisons representing the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and the Surgical Infection Society.”
Once developed, each guideline is publicly posted for a 30-day comment period at http://www.aorn.org, where members of the public, including scientific and clinical experts, organizations, agencies, and patients can review and comment on the draft. Public comments are individually reviewed and reconciled by the guideline team members. Each guideline is reviewed and updated on a 5-year cycle.
Contributed by Pat Hawthorne, Executive Director of Libraries