New nurse to PAR

[Mykami]

I have an interview coming up for the PAR unit. I do have some ICU background but have never worked in PAR. What are some questions that I should ask the manager during the interview?

Also If any PAR RN's would like to share what a typical shift looks like and commonly used meds etc... that would be so helpful!

Thank You!

Also, when I spoke with them briefly, the manager said I would get only 3 weeks of training. Is this adequate?

[brownbook]

There is a similar question in the specialty section under PACU nursing with some good suggestions.

PAR's can really vary.

A busy OR that does major trauma, neuro, cardiac, pediatric, surgeries would be a whole different world and knowledge base required by the PAR nurse versus an OR that only does scheduled, routine, basically, "healthy" patient surgeries (no emergency surgeries), no pediatric, none of the things I mentioned.

If it is a major trauma busy, OR, you will be hanging a lot of blood rapidly, managing cardiac drips, managing intubated patients, etc.

Even "stable" orthopedic recovery nursing requires some specialized knowledge of braces, ice thingies, CPM machines ( I don't do much orthopedics). Orthopedics isn't hard, just different equipment you need to get used to.

You need to ask why type of surgeries. Will ACLS and PALS be required. Is staff required to be on call. If so, get in writing what their on call rotation, schedule is. Insist that you get orientation to being on call.

[Mykami]

This particular PAR does Orthos, Pediatrics (as young as under 6 months old), GYN, Bowel, some Neuro, ENT, Urology, emergency trauma.

They do not do any vascular surgeries, thoracic, or open heart.

They seem to think 2 weeks is adequate for on the job training. I have absolutely no experience with PAR and no experience with pediatrics!

Because I have no experience with PAR, it is hard for me to comprehend what is an adequate amount of training. When I trained to ICU, I had almost 12 weeks of orientation.

[snifny1983]

I worked in PACU for 4 years and I would say that they are different. When I started I had 12 weeks of orientation. I had to learn both outpatients, inpatients, and discharge area. I worked in a PACU that did peds (stable peds only), GYN, ortho, neuro, ENT and trauma. We did recover vascular surgeries as well. Just depends on who is doing the case and if they would rather work in main OR vs. Cardio OR. Since you have ICU experience you will be great with the critical care aspect of the job, but I do think you will need some extra time to learn about all the different types of procedures and the different types of complications that they may have. Also, you will need some time to learn about the types of drugs that are given in the OR. It is important to know what they patient had and what may happen b/c of getting the drug. Hope this helps!

P.S. The PACU was and is my favorite place, just had to go back to ICU for bettering my chances of getting into school! You will love it!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

my first job out of school was a pacu, and i loved it. i went to icu from there after a year+.

if you have decent icu experience you'll catch on to pacu fast, so i think 3 weeks will be enough to get you started, bearing in mind that you'll keep learning.

[Mykami]

Thank you all for the comments. I'd like to think I would do well and learn quickly but I am nervous about it. Partly because although I have worked in the US, this will be my first job in the Canadian system.