Registered Nurse (RN) — PACU / Recovery Room

Be the reassuring voice patients hear as they wake from anesthesia. As a PACU RN at North Arkansas Regional Medical Center (NARMC), you’ll deliver vigilant, evidence-based post-anesthesia care—stabilizing airways, monitoring rhythms, and guiding patients and families through a safe recovery. If you’re calm under pressure and love collaborative, high-impact work, this role is for you.

About Us

North Arkansas Regional Medical Center (NARMC) is an innovative, non-profit healthcare system anchored by a central hospital in Harrison, Arkansas, and 13 clinics serving the rural communities of North Arkansas. More than 750 team members deliver a comprehensive range of services close to home. Guided by our values of safety, quality, integrity, and community, our mission is to provide comprehensive healthcare across Northwest Arkansas. Our vision is to be the region’s most trusted and preferred healthcare provider—one patient, one family, one neighbor at a time.

Job Summary

Provide professional nursing care using the nursing process for patients in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (Phase I/II). Coordinate closely with anesthesia, surgery, and perioperative teams to assess, monitor, intervene, educate, and document throughout recovery.

Key Responsibilities

• Receive and rapidly assess post-anesthesia patients; maintain airway patency, ventilation, and hemodynamic stability.
• Continuously monitor EKG/telemetry, oxygenation, level of consciousness, and pain/comfort; identify dysrhythmias and intervene appropriately.
• Administer and titrate medications per orders; understand drug therapy interactions and reversal agents; document responses in the EHR.
• Recognize and respond to emergencies (e.g., airway compromise, hypotension, arrhythmias, PONV, bleeding); activate resources and escalate promptly.
• Manage post-operative recovery needs and progression to discharge using standards such as Aldrete and ASPAN guidelines (Phase I/II).
• Deliver clear patient/family education and discharge instructions; communicate professionally with physicians, anesthesia, and team members.
• Uphold infection prevention and unit safety policies; maintain a clean, safe environment of care.
• Keep charge nurse/lead informed of changes in patient condition; contribute to care planning and updates.
• Demonstrate resilience in a setting with repeated, sudden stressful situations; participate in unit meetings/in-services and competency validations.