Pre-op/PACU

City of Hope•Goodyear, AZ

About The Position

The Pre-op/PACU nurse assesses, plans, implements, evaluates, and documents care for medical/surgical, ambulatory care, and same-day surgery patients before and after procedures, from Phase 1 through discharge. The role includes recovering patients from the operating room, endoscopy, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology, and transferring patients from the operating room to the ICU or medical/surgical units. The nurse administers and monitors sedation and analgesia according to physician orders and hospital protocol; assesses neurological, cardiac, and respiratory status; and recognizes and treats unplanned hypothermia. The position also involves caring for patients with complex needs, including hemodynamic compromise and mechanical ventilation, and safely using less-invasive life-support modalities and a range of invasive and noninvasive monitoring equipment. The nurse administers medications through all routes using the six rights and medication bar scanning, monitors for side effects, collects blood specimens and cultures, and cares for patients with PCA and epidural catheters. City of Hope is an equal opportunity employer. Pay is based on work experience, qualifications, and work location.

Requirements

At least 1 year of experience in pre-op and PACU.
Associate Degree in Nursing or equivalent.
Arizona Registered Nurse License or Registered Nurse License from a Compact State.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from an approved American Heart Association training site, American Safety & Health Institute, or Red Cross. If the current certification does not meet the guidelines, the employee must attend an onsite initial BLS course within 30 days of hire; certification must be renewed every two years.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification. The employee must acquire American Heart Association ACLS certification within 30 days of hire and renew it every two years. The employee may not independently provide ACLS for patients until the AHA ACLS card is obtained.

Responsibilities

Administer and monitor sedation and analgesia in accordance with physician orders and hospital protocol.
Assess preoperative and postoperative patients’ neurological, cardiac, and respiratory status.
Transfer patients from the operating room to the ICU or medical/surgical units.
Assess and treat unplanned hypothermia.
Assess, plan, implement, evaluate, and document pre- and postoperative care for medical/surgical, ambulatory care, and same-day surgery patients from Phase 1 through discharge.
Recover patients from the operating room, endoscopy, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology.
Interpret and operate cardiac and other invasive and noninvasive monitors; recognize normal and abnormal rhythms and trends, and institute appropriate interventions.
Care for patients with complex needs, including hemodynamic compromise and mechanical ventilation.
Initiate and maintain complex IV therapy, including thrombolytics, vasoactive medications, central IV catheters, dialysis catheters, and arterial lines.
Safely use less-invasive life-support and monitoring modalities, including BiPAP, ETCO2, arterial pressure-based CO/CI and SVO2 monitoring, and core temperature monitors.
Care for patients with IV, arterial, and central lines; ports; chest tubes; pleural catheters; tracheostomy tubes; and endotracheal tubes.
Maintain and care for patients with ostomies, including ileostomies and urostomies.
Administer medications by all routes using the six rights and medication bar scanner, and monitor patients for side effects.
Collect blood specimens and blood cultures.
Care for, assess, and monitor patients with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and epidural catheters.