Recovery nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi I am just about to start a new job as a recovery nurse in a small private hospital, and was just wondering if there were any recovery nurses out there that could recomend things i should be reading up on ?

Any tips would be more than welcome

Thanks

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Recovery???? I don't know if you mean recovering from drug addiction??? Or recovering from anesthesia???

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Hey

I ment as in nurses working in a recovery unit/ward. its a new field for me.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Start reviewing all your norms for your vital signs, and also do you have a good surgical nursing book? That will give you tips for what to watch out for in recovery.

I have only done clinicals and some shifts in recovery with adults, but you need to review pulse points, extubating and intubating patients, IDC care and normal values, drainage and washout protocols after TURPS, PCAs and pain management, review the documentation for PCAs as this is very important to keep track of how much pain relief the patient has received. Also look at pain protocols - most large recovery units have their own pathways or protocols for pain relief that they follow for certain conditions or post surgery.

Get your skates on cos you will be doing observations every 15 minutes, and doing a pile of charting as well. Also you cannot leave the patient at all, so you need good observation skills.

Review all your emergency protocols as well - DRABCD - though the hospital will probably go through this with you. Always follow hospital protocol when working anywhere with regards to your work and emergency procedures, fire procedures, etc.

I can't think of much else at the mo as recovery covers many different post surgical conditions.

Great u got the job, well done!

PS: Are u an Aussie?

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Hey

Thanks for all that info, will start my reading up now. just wondering what DRABCD stands for ? have never heard of it ?????

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If you have an ACLS book from your last training, go read it and focus especially on the difficult airway/airway maintenance section. Pull out your pharmacology book and flip to anesthetics, paralytics, sedatives, and hypnotics. You will want to be intimately familiar with every drug used by your hospital for anesthesia (everything from roc to vec to succ to ketamine to versed to propofol to etomidate, etc etc etc). Particularly know your side effects and antidotes, and focus on the side effects that might correspond to whatever the surgical chief complaint/significant med hx was (dysrhythmias and BBBs when combined with bupivicaine or what have you).

If you're lucky enough to be assigned to only one type of post-operative patient (OB, cardio, etc) then know the adverse events associated with whatever the most common surgeries are that you might see. Brush up on your non-responsive assessment skills as although patients are SUPPOSED to be extubated before getting to you (though I know some hospitals extubate in recovery), if it's busy you might find yourself with someone whose LOC is still pretty altered. Most of all, check on your patients often! Most hospitals have policies for exactly how often and what sort of assessments you need to do for the first 1 or 2 hours post-surgery, so make sure you're well within those guidelines.

Good luck! I love perianesthesia nursing and I hope you will too.

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

DR ABC is an Aussie thing. It is just an extension of the ABC.

D is for danger, making sure that you are safe before you start any interventions, e.g. did you pt just get electrocuted by an exposed wire, PPE, bodily fluids.

R is for response. Is the pt responsive. You know the old "hello. hello, can you hear me?" chestnut.

then just roll on into your ABCDE

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Join us over on the PACU forum under the nursing specialties tab!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.
Hey

Thanks for all that info, will start my reading up now. just wondering what DRABCD stands for ? have never heard of it ?????

DRABCD =

D - Danger

R - Respond

A - Airway

B - Breathing

C - Circulation, check patient, start CPR if necessary

D - Documentation

You can do this anywhere, and even if you have called the MET team (Medical Emergency Team).

Didn't you do CPR anywhere yet and learn this?

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DRABCD =

D - Danger

R - Respond

A - Airway

B - Breathing

C - Circulation, check patient, start CPR if necessary

D - Documentation

You can do this anywhere, and even if you have called the MET team (Medical Emergency Team).

Didn't you do CPR anywhere yet and learn this?

Don't know where all the DRABCD'ers are from. It was new to me as well. I went to school in Virginia and it was just ABCs at the time.

edit: in retrospect, it appears you are all from Australia. Must be a difference between the AHA and whatever your CPR credentialing body is there.

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Thanks for all the replys, think i have a good idea what to read up on. i have worked in intensive care for 3 years so know most things but in ICU 9/10 are ventilate pts, its going to be strange looking after stable day cases for routine operations.

Have never heard of DRABCD and i have worked in ICU in the UK and over here. you learn something new everyday.

Thanks again

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