[cowpoke_rn]

I just need to vent a little because I'm feeling pretty beat down right now. I love my job in PACU, but some days I feel like every nurse in the hospital absolutely hates me. I try to always be considerate and professional to everyone when giving report, but many times, and today especially, I get flamed by nurses when I try to give them report on the patient they are getting. I can't help it that I'm sending you a patient, it's my job! And I can say that, because I used to be a floor nurse in general surgery and I used to get post-ops from PACU one right after the other too. I know what it's like. I know they think I don't, but I do. At any given time when they are getting slammed with patients from me, I too am getting slammed by the OR. I can't hold the patient for you, even though I'd like to sometimes. It just isn't possible sometimes. Please don't take it out on me when it's totally out of my control. And if I've tried more than 3 times to call report and the nurse still can't take it, then I have no other choice than to just bring the patient over and give a verbal report. I don't enjoy doing that, but once again, out of my control. OK. I think I've said my peace. Do any other PACU nurses feel the same way? If any floor nurses read this post, please reply and let me know how you feel. I truly admire you guys for the excellent work that you do. We all just need to stick together and focus on who really matters, the patient. Have a great week everyone!

[seva]

Okay, already tried to post a response. Here goes my second:

Just remember that we Med-Surg nurses tend to get slammed at/near shift change. We are usually juggling mx patients/demands/medications etc. We tend to get stressed out by admissions on top of our other, sometimes overwhelming, obligations. ("Mother needs another blanket/fresh ice/coffee for her guests") on top of scheduled meds/treatments, etc.

Bearing all that in mind, you're just doing your job. Try to let other people's stress roll off your back. Call your report, do your best, and don't let the rest bother you. Yes, we med-surg nurses can be under a great deal of stress, but that doesn't have to affect you. Be flexible when you can, be professional when you should. Think of others and do your best.

You're right when you say we have to stick together. We are all just nurses, part of a larger system, trying to do our jobs.

Good Luck!

seva

[RN34TX]

You are not alone in this.
I too, started as a med/surg nurse but it doesn't mean a thing to them. They only know you now as a PACU nurse trying to slam them with patients along with the ER nurse who just sent them one and the ICU nurse who is coming down the hall with yet another new patient for them.

For the med/surg nurses, the patients often do come "all at once" just like the OR does to us. The difference for us is that we can only take two patients max.

When a select few of the notorious floor nurses at my hospital try to get dirty playing games in an attempt to dodge patients or give me a hard time, I try to think back to my med/surg days and what a miserable job it could be for me.

Why the burned out ones don't move on to another area is beyond me, god knows I'd never work the floors again, but I guess some just choose to stay there because they are afraid to be the new kid in another specialty.

Believe me, it gets on my nerves as well but I try to be understanding as most med/surg floors are understaffed and the nurses are given heavy and unrealistic patient loads and it's not right.

I truely feel for them even when some get snippy or flat out lie to me about a room not being clean or ready. It's hard some days, but I try to keep my cool as best I can.

[jsully13]

I never worked on a Med/Surg floor, but I did work in SICU before PACU. It does suck to get admissions, but it has to be done. I was never able to say "Can I call you back in 5 minutes?"

I think a big problem is that the majority of med/surg nurses (the ones that haven't worked recovery) don't know exactly how things work in the PACU. If they saw that we get slammed sometimes like they do maybe they would be a little more understanding.

We've started doing a thing called a "Room Reservation". We call as soon as we get our patient settled in recovery and give a little 30 second report to either the nurse that will be getting the patient or to the charge nurse to pass on. We give a little basic info (IV side, drains, O2, etc.) AND we give an estimate of how long it will be until we call report. This does 2 things- It gives them the opportunity to tell us if the room is not ready AND they have an idea of when we will be coming in order to prioritize. Then there is the nurse who ALWAYS starts a bath 5 minutes before we are planning to call report...Oh well. It is what it is.

[sabadao22]

hello just want to ask is it difficult for a foreign nurse to work in OR/pacu?

[jsully13]

The girl I work with on the evening shift is Filipino. She works in the OR, and I work in the PACU. She is fairly new (she started about 6 months before me). I don't think she had a harder time than anyone else during orientation. Hope this helps!!!

[RN34TX]

Originally Posted by jsully13

I never worked on a Med/Surg floor, but I did work in SICU before PACU. It does suck to get admissions, but it has to be done. I was never able to say "Can I call you back in 5 minutes?"

I've worked med/surg and ICU long before going to PACU and I was never allowed to stall admissions or transfers either, so I too have difficulty in understanding this.

It goes on where I work now but I've been a nurse in other cities/states around this country and if I ever attempted to stall the PACU or ER they'd be paging the administrator stat and I'd be in big trouble.

The most I could have ever hoped for in those days was to tell PACU "Hey I'm getting an admit right now from ER, can you please drag your feet in sending up your patient?" and just MAYBE it would buy me an extra 10 minutes between hits.

[muffie]

your nm needs to talk to their nm

[Nursonegreat]

i have experienced the floor rath as well. the floor would have sections divided up by room numbers, not by acuity or vacant rooms. so one nurse could get 3 PACU pts in a row and others nurses none from PACU. they would sound overwhelmed and we would have to space the pts out. well, i can empathize with the nurses but i cant help that your floor is run in a most idiotic way. the nurses who get all the admits have to confront the NM and rearrange how they do shift assignments. i have worked where it was divided as equal as can be, admits, ER or PACU were alternated between everyone and never ever ran into a problem. they dont seem to realize that if we dont move PACU pts, then the OR cant bring the pts out to us...we in the PACU cant say to the OR, can u hold that pt while i settle this pt. PACU seemed to have the least amount of "power" if u will...we could never stop up the OR but we also had to cater to ever single other dept...very very very frustrating. didnt help that our NM was a major moron and no help at all. seems this goes on alot tho.

we did have a few nurses that shot around the PACU transfers...after a length of time we would just ask for the charge nurse and say, listen its been 45 mins we been holding this pt and we are desperate, u will have to take report for nurse x....amazing how that nurse was always able to take the pt at that point. oh well.

[dali92]

I have also worked both sides, & I do try to be understanding when sending M/S a new post-op. I have held patients when able- but my experience is some floor nurses will take advantage of that- I'm told "the nurse will call back in 10 min" & then it's 20 min. later & I'M calling THEM again to see if they're ready yet. It becomes a game, as if the floor nurse envisions the PACU nurse sitting there filing her nails w/her one or 2 patients! It gets old to hear that the nurse taking that patient is at lunch (who is watching her other patients then?) & that it's shift change & they're "all in report"- yeah okay, but what if a patient needs something? Since report is taped, you can always go back & listen once your patient is settled- been there, done that. Some of my coworkers have resorted to calling the supervisor, particulary for the "room isn't clean" excuse. We are not sending unstable patients w/out of control pain- & when assisting w/transfer of the PACU patient from the stretcher to the bed, it is a little uncomfortable for the patient sometimes, so please don't ask us "Have you given ANYthing for pain?" One point that the floor nurses can't seem to fathom though, is that (at least where I work) PACU nurses are on call Friday from 3:30p.m. until Monday at 7 a.m. & we are expected to be at work Monday, even if we were there t 3 a.m. for a c-section. Yes, I can hold your patient for a few minutes, but please remember that we want to get home & try to get a few hours of sleep b/f coming back when you are getting to go home.