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Discussion

PACU "brain/cheat sheet"?

Hello,

I've been nursing for 10 years in med-surg and currently going through critical care training to work in PACU.

For the past ten years, my life has depended on brain/cheat sheets to get through the shift.

Is there such a thing in the PACU? I know the turnover is very fast and you might have some patients for only 2-4 hrs, but how do you organize your time with that patient?

Do you guys have a template to share?

Is there a point to a brain sheet in PACU or do random scribbles on a blank sheet sufficient for a such a fast-paced unit?

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    • Admin

    It is quite possible your future has a standard way to give/receive report, whether that is completed on paper or in the electronic record. My facility uses an SBAR form that the PACU RNs utilize.

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    This is such a good question. Congratulations! I may be able to transition from med-surg to PACU next year too. I would also like to ask what are the things you definitely need to know. For instance for my post op pt I always ask: last antibiotic time, type of anesthesia, end anaesthesia time, EBL.

    Also I have heard there is a medical procedures for dummies book that I plan to buy.

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    In my experience you dont really need a brain. And I am an ICU nurse who requires a brain sheet when I am working in ICU. In pacu not so much. I might just have a piece of paper that as patients come i might write down basic info like name, procedure done, what anesthesia gave them and then past history once I get a chance to look it up.

    Youre basically dealing with making sure they wake up ok, managing airway and pain and watching for post op complication like bleeding. There might be a few things that might need to get done, but most post op orders start when they get to the unit. So in my experience Id say you might find you dont really need one

    Once you start working though you will find out what info you need and want handy to write down

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