Looking to pick PACU nurses brain

[Mom2bandv]

Hey there, I am Jenn, first year RN student and i have to focus on some specialized nursing fields. i wanted to focus on PACU nursing. i need to do some career interviewing here are some questions i would love answered,

is there any specialized training or education for PACU?

how did you choose your job?

what do like/dislike about the job?

what is the turnover rate/longevity in this area?

how do you rate your overall job satisfaction?

what are the most important skills you feel you need for working as a PACU nurse?

i feel a lot of people think that because the patients are groggy/medicated etc that somehow these nurses don't work as hard or have a cake job and i want to set the record straight.

thank you in advance,

[anr33]

You need ACLS and PALS in my workplace. There are many prior ICU nurses with a wealth of knowledge and we use them to help with some of the more tricky situations we find at times.

I LOVE my job. I have been in PACU for 7 years now. I am a "seasoned" nurse with many years behind me and several different work experiences. It is through these experiences that I feel very comfortable with what I do. I truely believe that a new nurse should have at least 1-2 years on a med/surg floor to gain experience and use the skills they learned in school.

PACU jobs are hard to come by. Once you are there you stay there for a time. NO weekends (except on call every 4-5 weekends) and we rotate holidays on call because we are closed except for emergencies. That is a plus!!

Don't let anyone tell you it is a piece of cake to work in this department. The main focus is the patients airway after anesthesia. It only takes a split second for something to go wrong. We are very busy most of the time. When we have down time, we try to sneak a cup of coffee or take a break

Hope this helps. anr33