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Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Nurses and Patients

Nurses in hospital setup have different areas of specialty in relation to their training.  The training provides them with the requisite skills and knowledge on how to undertake their services professionally. Therefore, the relationship between the nurses and patients is essential in health management. This paper deliberates on various aspects concerning Post anaesthesia care unit (PACU).

Post anaesthesia care unit (PACU) hosts patients from surgery to undertake other care (Vance, 2011). Nurses that specialise in the area have specific rights and responsibilities to patients’ wellbeing and to the clinic they operate. Regardless of the fact that these nurses attend to diverse patients in an environment with constant activity, rapid turnover and intense pressures, they have to remain professional (Stannard & Krenzischek, 2016). Therefore, while administering their services, nurses must consider their own safety and that of their patients and at the same time remaining privy to their legal responsibility.  When attending to patients, the nurses in PACU need to put on protective gear for their safety. They also have a responsibility to ensure patients under their care are secure and appropriately attended to (Whitaker, et al., 2013). The concerns of the patients must be well addressed by the nurses to promote their healing and health. It is also important to reinforce the physical security of the patients (Thomassen at al., 2011). The nurses must moderate the number of people visiting them, visitor must be accompanied by PACU staff member, the time of visit should be limited to five minutes, no food or drinks should be brought in the rooms and no cells and cameras are allowed (Preston & Gregory, 2012). Nurses, therefore, have to remain in touch with the patients and assure them that all is going to be well.

Moreover, nurses have legal responsibilities that they must adhere to. They have to be certified and qualified to take care of PACU patients.  They must be trained in pain management and other areas that enable them to render appropriate care (LePage, Houghton & Wyckoff, 2009). It is unethical and illegal for nurses to interfere, disconnect or fail to monitor equipment attached to their patients such as pulse oximetry, blood pressure cuff, and cardiac monitor (UMPMC, 2016). Negligence is one of the legal ramifications that nurses may be held culpable for failing to ensure that they take good care of their patients (Bridgit, 2015). Nurses must ensure that the patient is provided with the required medication in the right dosage.  They have to answer to their concerns and if need be, certain decisions such as end of life must be arrived at through participation of close family member. Bridging these legal rules and standard may lead the nurses into legal tussles.

When providing care to persons in PACU, information becomes critical in the entire process of provision of care. Carers and the clients require information in equal measure to facilitate each other in providing care and aiding in recovery. Some patients and carers lack vital information concerning their care needs and this causes negative impacts on their recovery.  Therefore, it is important that the dilemma of providing information to carers at the same time putting into consideration confidentially concerns pertaining to client/patient is addressed. Furthermore, ethical implications are also worth evaluating to guarantee provision of satisfactory goods.

In a clinical context, information from the patient’s carer contributes to the quality of care and, therefore, a lot is required to close the gap. Most of the time, lack of information from the carer arises from lack of knowledge on the importance of communication (Stony Brook University Hospital, 2017). Some carers may feel shame to request or ask for clarification from professional nurses because of their ego. Insufficient information about the best medical practices may jeopardise delivery of care.  Lack of well-defined channels of communication in some of the organization may also derail the smooth flow of information among the carer. Similarly, some carer may bring confidential principle by disclosing private information to external persons, creating negative relationships between the patient and the carer. On the side of the clients, they may not communicate their concerns to the carer because of the fear and the first impression created. Patients may develop euphorbia in relating with some carer because they may lack charisma (Lunn, Gaarn-Lasen & Husted, 2012). These challenges however can be managed if carer and patients are trained and advised on the need to open up and share their emotions and feelings. Secondly, carers need to undergo specialise training on communication skills and service delivery to patients (Darbyshire, Greig, Vollam, Young & Hinton, 2016). They must show charisma to patients by creating rapport and providing conducive environment that will enable patients to be free and share whatever issues they are facing. Issues of ethics remain key in the patient-client relationship. The carers have to demonstrate high professionalism, respect, honest and teamwork. This will positively impact on the health of the patient as the quality of services will defiantly improve and the time at PACU will shorten (Price, Golden, Harrington, Konewko, Wasil & Herring, 2011). Failure to answer to patients’ request in PACU amounts to gross misconduct.  The consequence may be gross resulting to further complications and even deaths which otherwise could have been avoided. This is the reason why channels of communication must be functional to ensure that each and every concern is addressed appropriately and with urgency it deserves.

The people I have interacted with including patients, their closest family members and the nurses providing care have varied opinions about illness. Most patients that I have come into contact with would require maximum support, love and care when in PACU.  Little encouragement and hope will do wonders to them as it promotes their healing and recovery. Care providers, on their side expresses little compassion as they have deeper connectivity with the patients. They are doing their professional roles and, therefore, the concern is to do the right thing.  When a family member is in PACU, family members’ iota of hope heightens filled with mixed reactions, fear and anxiety, hoping that their own will recover and join them. The close connectivity of the family members  raises emotions  due to the bond and blood relation. To the family members, the meaning of sickness is so overwhelming and a mammoth in their eye that they may not understand how best they can eradicate it.

Similarly, I have my own perception when it comes to assigning meaning out of the experiences I have personally had with a patient in PACU. I came to appreciate the work of a nurse in PACU when my closet friend was recuperating after a head surgery. The nurse assigned to him was professional; she demonstrated compassion and passion in her work. The care that she provided was excellent. She ensured that my friend’s needs were sufficiently addressed. The communication skills she exhibited were awesome. Relatives and friend that came to visit the causality were well received and made comfort. The patient tended to ask a lot of question, sometimes contemplating to end his life. However, the encouragement and counselling that was provided by the nurse made my friend to change her perception and came to appreciate the gift of life. The family members of my friend were very emotional, hoping that their son would recover quickly and reunite with them.  They joined hands to pray and kept on checking on him to track on his recovery. This moral support was important in enhancing the healing and recovery of my closest friend.  This experience has shaped my perceptions about carers, patients and family. The three parties must support one another and encourage each other. Professionalism on part of carer is essential.