Guidelines in Practice: Implementation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have become a transformative approach in perioperative care, aiming to optimize patient preparation and improve outcomes. The recently developed AORN "Guideline for the implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery" provides perioperative nurses and other clinicians with implementation interventions for patients undergoing operative or other invasive procedures in any setting. This guideline also includes implementation guidance for many patient-specific populations. This article provides an overview of the guideline and discusses recommendations for ERAS program planning and implementation, the prehabilitation phase/surgical optimization, the preoperative phase, the intraoperative phase, the postoperative phase, and patient-specific considerations. It also includes a scenario describing the challenges related to implementing new ERAS protocols. Perioperative nurses should review the guideline in its entirety and apply the recommendations when implementing an ERAS program.