Registered Nurse PreOP PACU

Mount Sinai Medical Center•Miami Beach, FL

About The Position

The Registered Nurse provides pre-operative and post-anesthesia care to patients across the newborn, infant, child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric age groups. The role includes assessing patients’ physical, psychosocial, educational, nutritional, functional, skin-integrity, pain-management, and elimination needs; developing and updating individualized plans of care; delivering patient and family education; and documenting assessments, interventions, and outcomes according to hospital policy. The nurse prepares the pre-op holding area and PACU for admissions and transfers, monitors cardiovascular and respiratory status, administers medications and intravenous therapy, supports procedures and devices such as catheters, tubes, and drains, and responds to emergencies. The position also includes pre-operative and post-operative care and instruction, coordination of transfers, adherence to infection-control and regulatory standards, and participation in staff development and unit leadership activities.

Requirements

Current licensure in the State of Florida.
BLS certification required.
ACLS certification required.
Graduation from an accredited school of Nursing.
At least two years of RN experience for Level III.
Adherence to the applicable scope of practice and hospital, infection-control, and regulatory policies.

Nice To Haves

CPAN certification preferred.
BSN preferred.
At least two years of experience in the specialty area preferred.

Responsibilities

Assess patients’ physical, psychosocial, educational, nutritional, functional, skin-integrity, pain-management, and elimination needs across age groups.
Complete and update physical, admission, head-to-toe, and procedure-related assessments; develop and revise plans of care and discharge planning in accordance with departmental timelines and policies.
Assess readiness to learn, provide patient and family education, involve them in care planning, and document interventions and outcomes.
Prepare the pre-op holding area and PACU for admissions and transfers; greet patients and families and apply appropriate monitoring equipment.
Monitor and document hemodynamic, cardiovascular, and cardio-respiratory status, including oxygen saturation and cardiac rhythm; report abnormal findings to physicians.
Provide care for catheters, tubes, and drains, including insertion assistance and discontinuation as appropriate.
Administer medications according to physician orders and hospital policy; assess and document medication effectiveness and report adverse reactions.
Initiate and maintain intravenous therapy, prepare IV solutions using aseptic technique, and safely administer blood and blood products.
Delegate responsibilities to assigned caregivers based on patient needs and staff competencies.
Respond to Code Blue and other emergencies, initiate CPR, and provide safe, correctly documented emergency interventions.
Maintain patient-care equipment, identify broken equipment, and arrange necessary repair or biomedical engineering support.
Use alternatives to restraints where possible and provide required observation, interventions, and documentation when restraints are used.
Implement physician orders within required time frames and comply with regulatory standards and scope-of-practice requirements.
Perform initial vital signs and admission history, assess the chief complaint, and notify a physician within 15 minutes of arrival to the procedure area.
Respond to diagnostic data and initiate appropriate interventions.
Perform a 24-hour chart check at the beginning of each procedure and establish care priorities for the shift.
Provide pre-operative and post-operative care and instruction to assigned surgical patients.
Follow standard precautions and hand-hygiene guidelines; perform aseptic dressing changes and initiate wound and skin protocols when indicated.
Collect and label ordered specimens, perform bedside glucose monitoring, provide ostomy care, insert urinary catheters using aseptic technique, and administer oxygen as ordered.
Meet patients’ general hygiene needs and document patient valuables and their appropriate storage.
Coordinate patient transfers, obtain complete physician transfer orders, complete transfer summaries and referral forms, and give or receive reports.
Evaluate and document patient responses, progress toward goals, and changes to care problems and individualized care standards.
Complete required hospital and unit in-services and annual clinical-skills competency documentation; attend staff meetings and use established communication channels to resolve problems and conflict.
Present at least two in-services and two patient conferences, serve as a preceptor or clinical resource, function as a charge nurse, assist with financial management, chair or co-chair unit performance-improvement committee meetings, and participate in staff competency compliance.