RN Post Anesthesia Care Unit

POSITION SUMMARY

RN Post Anesthesia Care Unit

• The Post Anesthesia Care Unit Nurse’s primary role is to ensure patients safely emerge from anesthesia, managing potential complications and ensuring a smooth recovery process.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitoring patient recovery from anesthesia: This includes closely observing for side effects of anesthesia, monitoring vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, and temperature), and assessing the patient's level of consciousness throughout sedation recovery.
• Managing pain and other post-operative symptoms: PACU nurses administer medications as prescribed to control pain, nausea, and other potential complications like shivering or muscle aches.
• Ensuring patient stability and readiness for discharge: PACU nurses play a crucial role in assessing patients' readiness to be transferred to another hospital unit or discharged home. They utilize their clinical judgment to make interventions and communicate changes in patient condition to surgeons or other appropriate care team members.
• Providing patient and family education: PACU nurses educate patients and their families about post-operative care, including pain management, wound care, medication instructions, and expected recovery progress.
• Collaborating with other healthcare professionals: PACU nurses work closely with a variety of medical professionals, including anesthesiologists, CRNA’s, surgeons, and other nurses, to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
• Documenting patient care: Accurately documenting patient status, treatments, interventions, and clinical findings in patient charts and electronic health records.
• Recognizing and responding to emergencies: PACU nurses must be prepared to respond to emergency situations and initiate appropriate interventions, such as managing airway compromise, cardiac arrhythmias, or other critical events.
• This is an on-call position and all PACU nurses are required to participate in the on-call rotation for the Post Anesthesia Care Unit.
• In the event of a call back after hours the PACU nurse will be available to assist the Circulator RN in getting report, assisting with patient transport to the Operating Room, patient positioning, CRNA assistance and any other tasks that may be required for the procedure being performed.
• From time to time the PACU nurse will be required to float to other areas of the Perioperative Department to assist with other duties as necessary depending on staffing and workflow issues.
• The PACU RN will perform all duties as required in the CRMC Policies and Procedures.
• The PACU RN will be required to participate in all staff meetings, complete all Healthstream Modules within the specified timeframe and attend all required in-person training as required by CRMC.

EVALUATION:

• The evaluation is to assure individual performance, departmental goals and organizational goals are aligned. It is designed to support communication between the manager and the employee. Employee perception of their own performance is very important. To maximize the benefit of this process, both the manager and the employee participate in the evaluation process.

QUALIFICATIONS:

A. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent customer service skills.
• Reads and understands the English language.
• Ability to think critically and analytically with little or no supervision
• Ability to work effectively in situations of high stress and conflict and communicate goals and outcomes.
• Ability to process information and prioritize
• Possesses exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Possesses independent work habits, is self-reliant and self-directed
• Ability to learn, adapt, and change as required by the job functions
• Ability to maintain absolute confidentiality of material and information accessed and reviewed
• Basic computer literacy
• Ability to move freely, reach, bend, and complete light lifting
• Ability to use good body mechanics while performing daily job functions and ability to follow specific OSHA guidelines
• Ability to maintain attendance as required by CRMC policies and procedures to meet standard job practices.

Education

• RN Associate Degree is a minimum requirement.

Current BLS, ACLS and PALS is required.

C. Licensure

• Licensed in good standing with the Georgia Board of Nursing.

D. Experience:

• 1-2 years of experience as an RN Circulator is preferred.

E. Interpersonal Skills: Good communication skills is essential for an RN Circulator.

F. Essential technical/motor skills

G. Essential physical requirements

• Heavy: Exert 50 – 100 lb. of force occasionally and/or up to 30 lb. of force frequently >75%.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

A. Exposure to hazards (body fluid exposure level)

• Level I

B. Age of Patient Populations Served

• Neonates 1 - 30 days
• Infants 30 days - 1 year
• Children 1 - 12 years
• Adolescents 13 - 18 years
• Adults 19 - 70 years
• Geriatrics - 70+ years