Anesthetic Care Unit Nursing Careers
Deliver pre- and post-operative care for pediatric patients in a fast-paced environment. Support children through all stages of anesthesia recovery as part of a skilled, family-centred team.
About the unit
The Anesthetic Care Unit (ACU) provides pre-operative preparation and post-operative care for up to 50 patients per day, Monday to Friday. There is on-call coverage overnight for children needing emergency care. This fast-paced, challenging unit is staffed by highly skilled nurses with a family-centred approach to providing care throughout all phases of the patient journey.
ACU nurses care for patients in the pre-assessment phase, pre-operatively on the day of surgery, and through all phases of post-anesthetic care, until the child is either sent home or transferred to the inpatient unit. These nurses are uniquely trained to assess patients as they emerge from anesthesia.
Patients range in age from neonates to adolescents who require anesthesia for procedures. While most patients are treated and go home the same day, the unit also cares for admit-day-of-surgery patients.
Scheduling
Shifts are eight hours long. There is a range of start times, including 6:30 a.m. and every half-hour until 10 a.m. Then 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon and 3 p.m. starts times. Some of those shifts have on-call attached.
We do not have a typical rotation of day/evenings or day/nights.
Training and education
ACU nurses come to the department with a year of pediatric experience or adult post-anesthesia care experience. The unit provides a thorough onboarding and orientation process. In the future, there will be a BCIT pediatric Post Anesthesia Care Unit critical care course.
There are many opportunities for professional growth and development in the ACU. From online learning to in-person education sessions, there are many ways to keep advancing your critical care, patient-centred care and cultural safety skills and knowledge.
BC Children’s Hospital is committed to supporting ongoing learning through:
- dedicated education days
- interdisciplinary education including simulation
- a variety of workshop and conference opportunities
Educational opportunities are available through BC Children’s Hospital and the larger Provincial Health Services Authority. We encourage and support all staff to enroll in ongoing courses, as workload permits.
Additionally, you can access e-learning modules on the hospital intranet for quick educational reviews.