Question for pacu nurses

hollyster · Jul 4, 2005

I was wondering whether when you try to wake up a patient and they snap at you what do you think. You see i will be having surgery and quite often when i am woken up i snap at the person. I mean i dont try to, i just do. PLEASE BE HONEST. I want to know whether the PACU nurses are likly to consider this rude.

I can honestly say that I never thought twice when pts were coming out of it.

It just part of the reemergence.

The ones that get me are the ones who come out swinging or grabbing.

The only differrence between being a Bartender and a Nurse is that you do not make tips.

coffeentea · Jul 4, 2005

Most pts wake up quietly or moaning because of pain. A few would try to get off the cart ,take off their o2, remove the tubings (chest tubes, swan, aline, drains , NG, foleys....)or try to hit the staffs . I work in a busy PACU so i encounter one of the above situations almost daily. My coworkers and I think its just part of the job. Pts can't help how they react to anesthesia. That's why its so important to tell your anethesiologist/CRNA if you ever had any problem with anesthesia before......post op nausea, combative....

Good luck with your surgery

grimmy, RN · Jul 4, 2005

agree with tamle - oftentimes, you just can't predict how people will react. i've seen a couple of fighters, some tearful, some seemingly wide awake, some cursing, mostly, though, just like any other person coming out of sleep. kids are far less predictable immediately postop, so i have to be extra vigilant when we first wake them up prior to transfer to a stretcher or a bed.

it's all part of the process, and i never take anything a patient says personally. even the ones that wake up swinging a fist. its rare but it has happened. good luck with your surgery, and just give anesthesia a head's up.

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Jul 5, 2005

I was wondering whether when you try to wake up a patient and they snap at you what do you think. You see i will be having surgery and quite often when i am woken up i snap at the person. I mean i dont try to, i just do. PLEASE BE HONEST. I want to know whether the PACU nurses are likly to consider this rude.

And just to make sure this is understood i mean verbally snap at (yell at people to "leave me alone" then turn over and go back to sleep). not physically :coollook:

Charity, RN, APRN · Jul 5, 2005

And just to make sure this is understood i mean verbally snap at (yell at people to "leave me alone" then turn over and go back to sleep). not physically

"Leave me alone"??? I wouldn't bat an eye at that....IF you let me get my monitors and mask on before you "turn over and go back to sleep." :nono:

Even with that, one generally has to to a whole lot to tick off a PACU nurse, because we know its the drugs. Usually.

C