Introduction of evolving roles of Japanese perianesthesia nurses.

The aim of this special article is to introduce Perianesthesia Nurses (PANs) who play an essential role in assisting anesthesiologists to ensure the safety of patients undergoing anesthesia and to improve the quality of anesthetic care. In Japan, there is no national license for nurse anesthesia providers. Therefore, most of the tasks related to anesthesia are performed by the anesthesiologists. Due to the size and complexity of the aging population, higher quality perioperative care is needed. In search of a solution, PANs were introduced to improve anesthetic care in Japan, enabling anesthesiologists to delegate some of their tasks to PANs who work within the scope of registered nurse's policies. They are a new type of anesthesia care provider in Japan, and different from Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the United States. Currently, six schools provide 2-year master's degree perianesthesia nursing programs, and graduates are now providing anesthetic care both inside and outside of the operating room under the direct supervision of anesthesiologists. PANs not only assist anesthesiologists and help to reduce anesthesiologists' workload, but also contribute to the expansion of anesthesia services. They ensure patient safety and improve the quality of patient care before, during, and after the patient undergoing anesthesia.