Description
The PACU sessions are designed for perioperative nurse leaders who focus on post-anesthesia care for any surgical specialty. Sessions include topics on creative strategies to increase staffing capacity, innovative approaches to post-anesthesia care and take-home tools to implement at any sized facility to increase patient satisfaction.
Sessions include:
Ask Me Anything – Words of Wisdom from PACU Leaders
From bottleneck to throughput to phase II and phase I, your day is filled with judgment calls. In this session you will have direct access to postoperative leaders who have a combined 45+ years of experience leading the PACU. Learn their secrets to success – they are eager to share their insights and experiences with you! Bring your most pressing questions to help you overcome your greatest challenges.
Learning objectives:
- Learn the fundamental concepts of PACU leadership and how to empower your team.
- Adjust your leadership style to cope with challenging situations in post-operative care.
- Discover best practices for optimizing patient throughput and managing communications between departments.
We Are Doing What…Where? Procedure Care in the PACU
Creatively utilizing the entirety of a nurse’s scope of practice can provide professional opportunities and help to address challenges related to healthcare demand. Hear a case study from one facility facing logistical challenges with staff and how the perioperative leaders came together to cross-train PACU nurses to provide procedural support.
Learning objectives:
- Learn how to increase utilization by cross-training staff for procedural care.
- Explain the clinical standards required for procedural care in the recovery area.
- Understand who the key stakeholders are to help you need in the procedural care process.
PACU Boarding and Patient Experience – There are No Beds in the House!
This session focuses on managing expectations when patients are held for an extended length of stay in the PACU due to lack of inpatient beds. PACUs require large nurse to patient ratios contributing to the cost of care, straining staffing capacity, and impacting patient experience. Learn creative strategies to increase staff utilization and achieve higher patient satisfaction scores.
Learning objectives:
- Transform the patient experience by integrating a nurse-led interprofessional cabinet structure.
- Learn training tools to help staff care for patients during extended length of stay in the PACU.
- Plan the locations and equipment required for extended stay patients.
Creating the Ideal PACU Nurse
Patient flow, acuity, staffing, and nurse competency present challenges for effectively meeting patient and organizational needs on a daily basis. This session discusses a collaborative process used to recruit, train, and retain competent PACU nurses without prior critical care nursing experience through a transition to practice program. This session shares the successes and challenges at a large academic medical center and a community hospital.
Learning objectives:
- Learn the benefits of creating a transition to practice program for PACU nurses.
- Outline the characteristics of core curriculum requirements of the orientation program.
- Understand how to overcome common challenges implementing the transition to practice program.
PACU Staffing Models – Progressive Approaches to Staffing and Culture
Ensuring your PACUs are efficiently staffed but not too lean is always a challenge. Attend this session to hear strategies on developing a PACU staffing model tool. Accurately assess the number of staff needed at any given time of day, organize shifts to cover those times, demonstrate the need for nursing and hospital leadership to gain support.
Learning objectives:
- Develop a staffing plan to lesson call burden and obligation.
- Create a staffing schedule from budgeting full-time equivalents (FTEs) to actual hours of operation.
- Develop a strategy and plan for staffing overnight patients.
Pediatrics and Adolescent Care as Part of the Adult Setting
Adolescent and pediatric patients have unique needs in the PACU. The PACU RNs without pediatric background can find it challenging to care for children and teens alongside adults. How do we meet the needs of this unique patient population and their families in the PACU?
Learning objectives:
- Learn about the unique needs of the pediatric and adolescent patient population and how it’s different than caring for adults in the PACU.
- Establish a process to be more welcoming and provide a safe space for recovery.
- Embrace family presence in the PACU and implement a process for a smooth transition to discharge and recovery at home.
PACU Managers – Let’s Tie it All Together! (Q&A Panel Discussion)
Join this closing panel discussion with speakers and committee members as they tie it all together from the conversations over the week. Bring your most burning questions. What did you learn, what do you want to know more about? Walk away with tools to bring back to your PACU and become better equipped to lead your team. Take advantage of this opportunity to have your questions answered by this distinguished panel of PACU experts.
Learning objectives:
- Learn best practices to become an effective PACU Manager.
- Develop a plan to overcome daily challenges in the PACU.
- Learn strategies to improve patient experience.
To learn more about the sessions, visit: 2023.ORManagerConference.com/conference
