Pre Op

We have 21-beds servicing the 21 operating rooms on our Medical Center Campus and 10 beds servicing 5 operating rooms at our Fanny Allen Campus. Our Pre-Op unit does pre-screening for all inpatient and outpatient surgical patients as well as a variety of non-surgical patients having procedures where anesthesia is involved.

We work very well as a team and have the flexibility we need to take good care of our patients. We are a close-knit group of nurses who take care of each other both at and away from the hospital.

We work in a fast-paced environment helping patients who are feeling very anxious. We do a lot of patient teaching to help patients understand what medications to take - or not take - as well as what to expect. When patients have questions about their surgery, we answer those we can, and facilitate answering those we can't.

We have a very collaborative relationship with the Anesthesia Department. They do ongoing education with us and are very responsive to the needs of the unit.

We believe in Shared Governance and have active education, leadership and practice councils. We continually work together to improve our unit. We invest in continuing education and support our nurses' efforts to get Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia Nurse (CPAN) and Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse (CAPA) certification.

For more information call Megan Brunovsky at 800-722-9922, option 3, or 802-847-9680 or visit www.fletcherallen.org.

Pre-Op

Orientation

Orientation to pre-op services is done in two phases.

Phase One: Surgical Admissions

You will complete a 4-week orientation to surgical admissions. Orientation focuses on the skills needed to get the surgical patient safely to the operating room: pre-op assessment, IV starts, electronic documentation and collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Orientation also includes a one-day program to review our electronic documentation - PICIS. You will have a team of preceptors and you'll meet with the Nurse Educator and Nurse Manager on a weekly basis to review your orientation needs. After you complete the 4-week surgical admissions orientation you will continue to work in this area for 2 to 3 months before orienting to Prescreen.

Phase Two: Prescreen

You will receive up to 1 week of orientation to prescreen where you will be assigned 1 to 2 preceptors. Your orientation will focus on gaining the skills to successfully complete a pre-operative prescreen, including: Pre-op manager PICIS training, patient interviewing, requesting anesthesia review and preparing the chart for surgery.