The nursing instructor is discussing postoperative care with the junior nursing students. A student nurse asks, "Why does the patient go to the PACU prior to the medical-surgical unit?" What is the nursing instructor's best response?
A) "The PACU allows the patient to recover from anesthesia in a stimulating environment to facilitate awakening and reorientation."
B) "The PACU allows the patient to recover from the effects of anesthesia, and the patient stays in PACU until he or she is oriented, has stable vital signs, and is without complications."
C) "Frequently, patients are recovered in the medical-surgical unit, but hospitals are usually short of beds, and the PACU is an excellent place to triage patients."
D) "The medical-surgical unit is frequently very busy and unable accept the patient from surgery, so the patients are observed and monitored in PACU until a bed is available."
Ans: B
Feedback: The PACU provides care for the patient while he or she recovers from the effects of anesthesia. The patient must be oriented, have stable vital signs, and show no evidence of hemorrhage or other complications. Patients will sometimes recover in the intensive care unit, but this is considered an extension of the PACU. Option A is incorrect; the PACU does allow the patient to recover from anesthesia, but the environment is calm and quiet as patients are initially disoriented and confused as they begin to awaken and reorient. Option C is incorrect; patients are not usually recovered in the medical-surgical unit, and although hospitals are occasionally short of beds, the PACU is should not used for patient triage. Option D is incorrect; in an emergency, the medical-surgical unit may be unable to accept a patient from surgery, and so the patients are observed and monitored in PACU until a bed is available, but this is the exception to the rule.
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