Denver Health Peri-Op Care Rotation PACU

PERI-OP CARE – PACU-DHMC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES CA 1 Level

Goals: The resident will face issues that arise in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit. These issues will range from knowledge and use of monitors to the complex physiological changes that are associated with emergence from anesthesia. These include pain management, hemodynamic monitoring, facilitation of ICU admits, and trouble shooting PACU related issues and knowledge of when consultation is appropriate. The resident will also find value in following difficult patients through their post op course as well.

The resident will be assigned to the PACU. He/She will be present for admissions to the PACU and listen and take part in the Anesthesia providers sign out to the PACU staff. From that point on all post op concerns will flow through the PACU resident.

The PACU resident will handle all questions from the PACU nursing staff, and when needed will discuss difficult issues with the attending from the case, the AIC, or attending assigned to the PACU for the day. Issues and need for periop nerve blocks and indwelling access will also be handled initially by the PACU resident. The resident will need to be facile with ACLS and the location and contents of the ‘cor cart’, as well as mastery of the difficult and emergent airway algorithms.

The resident will be expected to be up to date on the current status of all patients in the PACU as they will meet with an attending in the am and to round on the PACU patients.

When appropriate the resident will obtain consults for difficult patients that require specialty care out of the scope of an Anesthesiologist. For these difficult cases the resident will be expected to follow up with the patient/ primary service the following day to make sure that the transition from PACU was as seamless as possible.

An am conference is required by all residents toward the end of their month rotation through Periop services, as discussed in the Pre anesthesia clinic information.

Also the resident will be expected to help with issues that may arise in the APC, which include but are not limited to, difficult IV access, difficult patients, issues with translation services.

Rev. 12/2009