PACU Call Staffing

[pacunurse]

Wanted info on how other PACUs are staffed for call...only 1 RN, always 2 licensed staff members???

[Marilou26RN]

In our PACU, on-call's on weekends have 1 RN w/ a backup. However, on weekdays, on call RN is scheduled 11:30am-8pm, but there is another RN that is scheduled 3-11:30pm. Policy does state 2 RN's, but our unit gets away w/ this by stating there's the backup on weekends & weekdays there's the evening RN.

[pacunurse]

Thanks for your response. Do ICU cases go back straight to the unit, or do you usually recover first?

[Shadog]

Originally posted by pacunurse:

Thanks for your response. Do ICU cases go back straight to the unit, or do you usually recover first?

I am also interested in whether or not ICU pts go directly back to the unit and if the PACU nurse assists in the recovery?

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Janice

[justanurse]

I work in a ~200 bed hospital. All our patients, except our open hearts, are recovered in PACU. Open hearts go directly to our ICU, where they are recovered in the room. Now, that said, I have seen patients recovered in our CCU unit post op, but the PACU nurse had to stay with them. It was very late in the day and it was probably the last case (send the other PACU nurses home, so you only had to pay one of them) .