Who we are:
The Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety (CSPS) is an incorporated multidisciplinary coalition of professional organizations whose members are involved in the care of surgical patients. Each of these seven organizations has two voting members on the CSPS which constitutes the Board of Directors.

Our Member Organizations:
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants (AASPA) American College of Surgeons (ACS) American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Association of Surgical Technologists (AST)

Our Mission:
Promote a culture of patient safety and a caring perioperative workplace environment.

Our Vision:
Members of the surgical team work together to provide optimal patient care and a caring perioperative workplace environment.

Our Goals:
1. Create opportunities for strategic, informed dialogue. 2. Identify areas of potential internal and external collaboration to improve surgical patient safety and perioperative workplace environments. 3. Share information and establish ongoing lines of communication between member organizations. 4. Raise awareness of surgical patient safety and perioperative workplace environment issues among the public, healthcare leaders, and members of the perioperative team. 5. Provide or facilitate joint educational opportunities for members of the perioperative/surgical team. 6. Coordinate advocacy efforts for surgical patient saftey and a caring workplace environment.

Our History:
The idea for a Council on Surgical & Perioperative Safety (CSPS) came out of a summit on perioperative care cosponsored by the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses in February of 2004. At that summit, individuals from organizations representing the nurse anesthetists, the surgical physician assistants, the perianesthesia nurses, and the surgical technologists were invited to participate, and a number of shared themes emerged focusing on public information and education; communication and teamwork, and; coordination of guideline development. Based on the concept of creating a culture of patient safety, the group shared ideas about public awareness, new technologies, maintaining a skilled workforce, leadership development, and identifying preventable causes of errors. As a result of these shared themes, the Council was formed. The CSPS meets two to three times a year.

Our projects and plans:

• To espouse and disseminate core principles in patient safety
• To coordinate and sponsor educational programs and materials for the perioperative team
• To address patient education needs related to safety issues
• To network and collaborate with other patient safety groups and organizations