PACU Nursing Manual

The PACU Nursing Manual is a practical, high-impact guide that equips nurses with the knowledge and confidence to care for patients during the most critical phase of recovery: the immediate post-anesthesia period. Focused on real-world PACU challenges, this manual delivers clear, actionable guidance for managing airway, breathing, circulation, neurologic status, pain, and postoperative complications in fast-paced, high-acuity environments.

Written for both new PACU nurses and experienced clinicians, it supports bedside decision-making, unit orientation, and ongoing professional development without unnecessary theory or overload.

What will you learn?

• Immediate assessment & stabilization: ABC-based evaluation during the first critical minutes in PACU, including airway, breathing, circulation, and early complication recognition
  
• Airway, respiratory & hemodynamic management: Practical management of hypoxia, hypoventilation, hypotension, hypertension, arrhythmias, bleeding, and shock
  
• Neurologic recovery & safety: Monitoring emergence from anesthesia, delirium, cognitive dysfunction, seizures, and stroke
  
• Pain, comfort & sedation management: Multimodal analgesia, opioid safety, sedation monitoring, and prevention and treatment of PONV
  
• High-risk patients, emergencies & discharge readiness: Care of special populations, structured crisis response (e.g., MH, LAST, anaphylaxis), and safe discharge criteria with effective handoff communication

What makes this module unique?

• PACU-first perspective: Written specifically for post-anesthesia nursing, not adapted from ICU or anesthesia textbooks
  
• Manual, not a textbook: Concise, focused, and practical, only what matters at the bedside
  
• International expertise: Developed by anesthesiologists and PACU nurse educators with frontline experience

Key learning features

• Short, focused chapters optimized for rapid reference during shifts
  
• Step-by-step assessment and intervention frameworks
  
• Tables, checklists, and algorithms for quick decision support
  
• Practical tips, red flags, and escalation cues
  
• Clinical scenarios that connect theory directly to bedside practice