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Creating Successful PACU Nurses: Georgetown University Hospital Perianesthesia Orientation Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2009

Lynnae E. Elliotte
Lynnae E. Elliotte*
Affiliation:
Pre- and Post-Operative Services, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
*
Correspondence to: L. E. Elliotte, Clinical Educator, Pre- and Post-Operative Services, Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007, 4703 Cardinal Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. Tel: 301-931-0496, Fax: 202-444-3437, E-mail: Lynnae13@yahoo.com
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Abstract

Chestnutt and Everhart [2007] describe how the nursing shortage has led to an influx of new graduate nurses into the acute care nursing setting. Georgetown University Hospital (GUH) is experiencing this influx in all nursing specialties including the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). The New Graduate Nurse Program started in 2001 and the PACU has participated in the New Graduate Program since 2002. On average, GUH hires 90 new graduate nurses a year; the PACU acquires four to seven new graduate nurses each year. In 2006, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) conducted a national survey and found that 80% of the respondents had a structured critical care orientation program for newly licensed nurses [Thomason, 2006]. Since the PACU is a critical care area, leadership desired a standardized program to create the optimal PACU nurse. This article explores the Perianesthesia New Graduate Orientation Program at GUH and presents the charactertics of such a program. In addition, the successes and challenges of the program will be discussed.

Type
Education
Information
British Journal of Anaesthetic & Recovery Nursing , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , November 2009 , pp. 70 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © British Association of Anaesthetic and Recovery Nursing 2010

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References

References

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) (2009). Magnet Recognition Program Review. http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet/ProgramOverview.aspxGoogle Scholar
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