This document is an innovative emergency manual for perioperative care, developed by the Stanford Anesthesia Cognitive Aid Group.

Research demonstrates that despite best intentions, well-trained clinicians often miss known key steps during critical events. Simulation studies suggest that the use of emergency manuals, along with training and familiarisation, result in better management of critical events during surgery.

Workers in other safety-critical events often use similar manuals, because memory worsens during crises and stress and detailed literature is rarely accessible. This perioperative Emergency Manual contains 25 critical events as well as Crisis Resource Management key points that have been iteratively tested with simulation over many years.