By Esther Espuñes, EORNA President

Over the past two months, we have explored what makes surgery safer—from preventing surgical site infections and protecting sterility, to managing risk, measuring quality and learning from adverse events. Throughout these reflections, one thing has become increasingly clear: perioperative nurses are at the heart of safe surgical care.

But being at the heart of safety is only part of our role. We also need to lead it.

Leadership is not only a position. It is influence, responsibility and action. It is seen in the way we anticipate risks, speak up, support our teams, use evidence and turn experience into improvement.

Our clinical expertise and understanding of the entire surgical pathway give us a unique perspective. We are already leading every day at the bedside. But we should ask ourselves: are we equally present where decisions about our patients, our workforce and our profession are being made?

We cannot shape the future using yesterday’s models. Our leadership needs to extend from the bedside to policy, influencing education, research, organisational strategy and European health policy.

We have spent years proving that perioperative nurses are essential to safe surgical care. The next chapter is to ensure that we are recognised as essential leaders in shaping the future of European healthcare.

Patient safety is not something we manage around our clinical practice. It is something we lead through our clinical practice.

Next week, I will shift our focus to the person at the centre of everything we do: the patient.