After an operation or surgical procedure, the patient is brought to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to recuperate from anesthesia. Sometimes the PACU will be referred to as post-operative recovery unit, or recovery room. A PACU nurse attends to the patient to make sure he is stabilized and in good condition. Generally, the PACU nurse takes vital signs, dresses wounds, monitors patient’s progress and administers medications. The PACU is a stressful environment, which is why a PACU nurse should be proficiently trained to render critical care. If you plan to start a PACU nursing career, use these tips to learn about the PACU nurse education and training requirements. Here’s how to become a PACU nurse.
- Fully understand the kind of care PACU nurses give. The PACU is a surgical recovery intensive care unit in which patients undergo close monitoring. Nurse’s will observe them for any heart or breathing abnormalities as well as administer pain medication before they are transferred to another unit in the hospital. PACU nurses need to be quick and efficient as they may have more than one patient to tend to. If any patient were to develop life threatening post op difficulties it would be their job to administer the proper medications, or call the proper code. Patients will spend anywhere from one to three hours on average recovering in the PACU.
- Get a degree in nursing. There are two different nursing degrees that will qualify you to work as a PACU nurse: an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. Some hospitals will require a minimum of a bachelor’s in nursing for work in the PACU, but often an associate’s degree with the proper certifications will be enough. Choosing between an associate’s and bachelor’s degree will depend on your situation. The difference is two years of schooling. Some nurses prefer to get their two year associate’s degree, and work on their bachelor’s while working as an RN.
- Pass the nursing board exam. You should pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to be a Registered Nurse (RN). As soon as you get your RN license, you will be eligible to legally practice the nursing profession.
- Earn critical care nursing experience. Your first stint as an RN will most likely not be in the PACU because PACU duties require nurses to have extensive critical care experience. Fortunately, new registered nursing jobs often take place in units like the emergency room and critical care unit. Take advantage of these assignments as they can help you in developing the skills required of a PACU nurse.
- Satisfy the requirements for a PACU nurse. After earning critical care experience, you have met the requirements to work as a nurse in the PACU. Working as a critical care nurse will have taught you many important skills such as pain management, and the use of medical equipment that is required of all nurses. You must seek certification in cardiac life support (ACLS), basic cardiac life support (BCLS), and pediatric life support (PALS). Every nurse is required to take continuing education credits on a yearly basis, so you want to focus getting your units in critical care and post-operative care. Most hospitals will offer online classes that you can take throughout the year for free for your continuing education credits while you work for them. If you are not currently employed you will need to check online with the nursing board for information on where to take continuing education units.
- Get certification. The American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification, Inc. facilitates certification for PACU nurses. Two certifications are available for PACU nurses: Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse (CPAN) and Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia Nurse (CAPA). Requirements include an RN license, a passing score in the examination and PACU practical experience. These are sometimes offered through local health sciences colleges, community colleges or your place of employment. You will need to check for the price of each class because these are not offered for free, unlike continuing education credits.
The job outlook for PACU nurses is good, which means nursing job opportunities will be available for you. PACU nurses can make on average of up to $55,000 per year. Nursing jobs will be available all over the United States as the baby boomers retire, and jobs are left open. Also an unfortunate fact of the nursing career is that only a handful of nurses who graduate are still in practice five years after graduation due to the high demands of the career.