RN - Pre​/Post-Operative - PRN - AVALA Surgery Center- Metairie - RA

Position Summary

Provides comprehensive nursing care for patients across the perioperative continuum, including preoperative and day of surgery assessment and preparation and post-anesthesia care. Ensures safe, efficient, and patient-centered care in alignment with regulatory standards and facility policies.

• Perform age-specific preoperative patient assessments, including history, medications, allergies, vital signs, and surgical readiness.
• Verify required documentation, consents, diagnostic results, and pre-procedure instructions are available prior to day of surgery.
• Communicate in timely manner to include but not limited to any concerns, potential delays, abnormal findings to the surgeon and surgery center director.
• Provide patient and family education on the surgery, anesthesia expectations, and postoperative care requirements.

• Initiate IV access and administer ordered preoperative medications.
• Perform admission assessment within electronic medical record.
• Coordinate care with anesthesia and surgical teams to ensure timely patient flow.
• Receive and monitor patients transitioning from PACU or minor procedures.
• Confirm no changes in medical history since preoperative assessment

• Receive patients from the OR and initiate continuous monitoring of airway, ventilation, hemodynamics, and neurological status.
• Manage airway support, oxygen therapy, and emergency interventions as needed.
• Administer pain medication, antiemetics, and other postoperative medications per provider orders and protocols.
• Recognize and respond to complications, including respiratory compromise, hemodynamic instability, and adverse reactions.
• Conduct frequent assessments until the patient meets established Phase I discharge criteria.
• Assess patient stability, pain levels, surgical site, and overall recovery progress.
• Provide oral fluids, snacks, mobility assistance, and discharge readiness evaluations.
• Educate patients and caregivers on home care, wound care, medications, activity restrictions, and follow-up instructions as ordered.
• Complete discharge documentation and ensure safe patient release per facility criteria.

• Maintain accurate, timely, and complete electronic medical documentation.
• Follow infection prevention, safety, and regulatory compliance standards.
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to support efficient patient flow.
• Participate in staff meetings, continuing education, and competency training.
• Maintain readiness to respond to emergencies and code situations.
• Perform other duties as assigned within the scope of practice.

• Current RN license in state of practice.
• Current BLS certification; ACLS required or obtained within facility timeframe.
• Minimum one year of perioperative or critical care experience preferred.
• Strong assessment, critical thinking, and prioritization skills.
• Ability to work in fast-paced, team-oriented environments.

• Action Orientation - Targets and achieves results, overcomes obstacles, accepts responsibility, establishes standards and responsibilities, creates a results-oriented environment, and follows through on actions.
• Communications - Communicates well both verbally and in writing. Effectively conveys and shares information and ideas with others. Listens carefully and understands various viewpoints. Presents ideas clearly and concisely and understands relevant detail in presented information.
• Creativity/Innovation - Generates novel ideas and develops or improves existing and new systems that challenge the status quo, takes risks, and encourages innovation.
• Critical Judgment - Possesses the ability to define issues and focus on achieving workable solutions. Consistently does the right thing by performing with reliability.
• Customer Orientated - Listens to customers, builds customer confidence, increases customer satisfaction, ensures commitments are met, sets appropriate customer expectations, and responds to customer needs.
• Interpersonal Skills - Effectively and productively engages with others and establishes trust, credibility, and confidence with others.
• Leadership - Motivates, empowers, inspires, collaborates with, and encourages others. Builds consensus when appropriate. Focuses team members on common goals.
• Teamwork - Knows when and how to attract, develop, reward, and utilize teams to optimize results. Acts to build trust, inspire enthusiasm, encourage others, and help resolve conflicts and develop consensus in creating high-performance teams.

• Meets dress code standards and adheres to policy.
• Completes annual education requirements.
• Maintains regulatory requirements.
• Maintains patient confidentiality at all times.
• Reports to work on time and as scheduled, completes work within designated time.
• Wears identification while on duty, uses computerized punch time system correctly.
• Completes in-services and returns in a timely fashion.
• Attends annual review and…