You might be a PACU nurse if...

Specialties PACU

Published

I thought this would be a cute thread to start, bear with me this is one of my first entries and I've been on call for 24 hours.:rolleyes:

1. You look at your patients as they enter the room and can predict if they have sleep apnea

2. You thank the lord for the wonderful drug that is versed

3. You frequently hear the phrase "I gotta pee" sometimes followed by said patient trying to get semicomatose self out of bed.

4. The redirection techniques they teach you in nursing school, do not work with a confused, combative post-operative patient.

Specializes in general surgery/ER/PACU.

Also, pain control can be fun when the patient takes oxy IR, methadone, and xanax and home QID and PRN.....and is still wide awake after an heaping dose of dilaudid and versed.......lol!

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Also, pain control can be fun when the patient takes oxy IR, methadone, and xanax and home QID and PRN.....and is still wide awake after an heaping dose of dilaudid and versed.......lol!

Try working at a teaching hospital when the brand new residents begin their rotations.

The patient you are talking about who takes enough pain meds at home to knock out a horse and what does the shiny new resident tell me?

"Well, I don't want you to over-medicate so here's orders for morphine 1-2 mg q5min to a max of 10 mg."

Yeah.....thanks a lot!

I sure wouldn't want to give any more pain meds than that or the patient would need to be re-intubated for sure!

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Specializes in general surgery/ER/PACU.

Hey RN34TX! That resident would really get on my nerves. Luckily where I work we have standing orders for morphine and dilaudid. Either way, the doc is only a beep away.

How about when your AAA repair rolls out with Neo, Nitro, 2 IV's with LR, and an art line all hanging from the same pole, twisted and tangled in so many knots that you can't tell which line is which. Meanwhile, the surgeon is standing over you waiting for you to mix and hang the nitropress for the BP of 200/90.:angryfire

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Hey RN34TX! That resident would really get on my nerves. Luckily where I work we have standing orders for morphine and dilaudid. Either way, the doc is only a beep away.

How about when your AAA repair rolls out with Neo, Nitro, 2 IV's with LR, and an art line all hanging from the same pole, twisted and tangled in so many knots that you can't tell which line is which. Meanwhile, the surgeon is standing over you waiting for you to mix and hang the nitropress for the BP of 200/90.:angryfire

Mmmmm-hmmmm!!

I hear that!

Usually while I'm untangling the twisted and tangled IV's and A-lines, the Anesthesia resident is looking at me impatiently saying "Can I give you report? I really need to get out of here."

I never say it but always think to myself:

"That's funny, you obviously were in a big hurry to get out of the OR into PACU, from judging the mess the patient is in, I woulda thought you had plenty of time since you saved so much time by rushing the patient out here in such a mess......I'm so sorry I have to untangle these lines and waste your precious time....... Perhaps I should take report first so that you can leave and I'm no longer wasting YOUR time. After all, it's my job as a nurse to clean up your mess and heaven forbid you waste your valuable time doing such menial tasks."

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Specializes in general surgery/ER/PACU.

I know exactly what you mean! I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I bet we could write a book! LOL!

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Specializes in PACU.

It's been awhile since this thread had a reply, but it needs to be continued. We all need a place to vent.

Of course, it is 3:30 in the a.m. while I am replying while I wait for a guy who got drunk and got stabbed. You know your a PACU nurse when this is a common occurrence.

And don't you just love it when people think all PACU nurses do is take blood pressures and work Mon.-Fri. 9:00-5:00 jobs.:lol2:

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Specializes in PACU & NICU.
it's been awhile since this thread had a reply, but it needs to be continued. we all need a place to vent.

of course, it is 3:30 in the a.m. while i am replying while i wait for a guy who got drunk and got stabbed. you know your a pacu nurse when this is a common occurrence.

and don't you just love it when people think all pacu nurses do is take blood pressures and work mon.-fri. 9:00-5:00 jobs.:lol2:

thanks for the new post! i've shared your views on pacu. lately, i've felt like the surgeons think i'm a hostess instead of a trained professional with a four year degree and icu experience.

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Love this very accurate portrayal of most of my days and nights in PACU.

How about those ICU nurses who ask us if we "recovered" the patient? Then they ask why we brought them with a low BP? Sorry, next time I will hold the patient until their vitals are perfect and their wounds have all healed and all the drains are out(and the Pleuravac is ready to come out). Oh, and we will extubate them as well and cure their diabetes and cancer.

Ok, I am slightly bitter. I love most of my ICU nurse buddies, but the few that spoil it kill me.

Also, I love when the surgeons are told absolutely no visitors, then they bring in all the family members of all their post ops in and then they scram. Love that.

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Specializes in PACU, ED.

You might be a PACU nurse if....

You're shopping in the store and warn the loaf of bread in the cart that there's a bump coming.

Everytime your spouse snores you tell them to take a deep breath.

You can braid your EKG, Pulse/OX, and BP lines simply by applying them to the patient.

You snicker at floor orders for Morphine 2mg q6h.

A doc's order to give 30 and 30 is considered complete.

You can prime and program a PCA faster than most folks can fix a cup of coffee.

BTW, you're a night PACU nurse if you consider coffee one of the basic food groups.

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good ones ashiker96!

(the bread one cracked me up)

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Specializes in long term care, med-surg, PACU, Pre-Op.

The floor nurse calmly says, so "is this your only patient"after you have been put on hold for 30 minutes and held the patient already for an hour because they supposedly didn't have a bed but one miraculously opened up after shift change.:angryfire Yeah as if we have no other patients in the PACU.

Or you hear this on call and holding the patient, t"hanks for holding them so I could take my break." I know breaks are important for nurses, but ideally shouldn't the patient get back to the floor when they are ready so family can see them.

Love the bump line, I always find myself ready to warn an empty cart that there is a bump coming.

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A couple more....

"Must be nice having all your patients asleep"

You spend 2 hours re-warming the patient, using blankets, warming machine and such only to have the ICU nurse(no offense ICU:)) strip the patient down to put all the monitors on and do a full assessment and want to turn the patient to do a skin check(all before they want to get report). Sigh.

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