A PACU nurse is a highly trained critical care nurse who works in a hospitals post anesthesia care unit (PACU) . They are responsible for caring for patients who have just gotten out of anesthesia and are waking up. PACU nurses monitor a patient’s vital signs, assess their levels of consciousness, and watch out for any side effects from anesthesia. They also need to be expert communicators and collaborators, working alongside the physician, other nurses, and medical staff, keeping them informed of any changing circumstances during the patient’s recovery. Some common tasks that PACU nurses perform include monitoring post-operative patients’ levels of recovery and consciousness from anesthesia, administering pain medication, updating patients’ medical records, communicating with doctors, surgical staff, and other nurses about their patients’ medical state, changing patients’ surgical dressings, helping patients stand and walk, and answering patients’ questions after they wake from sedation. PACU nurses need to have in-depth knowledge of anesthesia, as well as a strong grasp on devices such as analgesia pumps, arterial lines, I.V. or epidural infusions, and central venous lines. They should also be familiar with the effects of medications used in all kinds of procedures—from minor cosmetic procedures to open heart surgeries.