smnurse

Hi! This is my first post. I am interested in knowing the level of nursing experience your facility requires for RNs providing Phase I care of patients, particularly pediatric patients. Our PACU is combining with our Same-Day Surgery dept., so that Phase I/Phase II care will be delivered by the same nurse in the same location. In our present PACU staff, we have always required our RNs to have a minimum of 2 years Critical Care experience. However, with the merge, we will now have nurses with no Critical Care background--and limited med/surg experience-- caring for patients in Phase I, including ICU overflow patients. Despite cross-training, several RNs have put patients in jeopardy. Thankfully, our regular PACU RNs were readily available to help correct what could have been disasterous situations. We have shared our concerns with the managers from both areas, but they seem to feel that they can learn "on the job" with the help of clinical resources. What do think about this? Any experience with this or a similar situation? If so, what did you institute to help the less experienced staff safely care for patients? Thanks for your help!!!!