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Perianesthesia nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical perianesthesia nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for perianesthesia nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 19.2% of perianesthesia nurse resumes contained pacu as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a perianesthesia nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 perianesthesia nurse skills for your resume and career

1. PACU

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use pacu:

Achieved zero turnover with 100% ACLS and PALS certifications for all PACU nurses from 2006 to 2011.
Research, development, and designed a poster entitled Family visitation in PACU.

2. BLS

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use bls:

Have current BLS, ACLS, and PALS.
Provide stabilization, Resuscitation and other life support measures in cases of arrests in line with ACLS, BLS.2.

3. Acls

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use acls:

Experienced in multiple and various CODES requiring critical thinking, and use BLS & ACLS skills.
Function independently in a code situation according to ACLS guidelines.

4. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use vital signs:

Provide postoperative care to patients; monitoring/stabilize vital signs, postoperative pain management, phlebotomy, blood/auto transfusions.
Administered pain medications per anesthesia postoperative orders and monitored vital signs.

5. Administer IV

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use administer iv:

Administer IV fluids and medications including antibiotics, TPN, narcotics, while carefully monitoring for side effects and adverse reactions.

6. Epic

Epic is a private healthcare company which developed and continues to provide a software intended for healthcare professionals and the organization and management of medical records. It is by far one of the largest in its field, with over 50% of patients having a medical record present in their system. Patients, as well as clinics and various medical professionals and facilities are all able to use this system to keep medical history and information safe and easy to reach, alter, and share with the necessary people.

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use epic:

Supported the staff while the conversion took place with previous knowledge of Epic.
Contracted for a "go live" conversion in Epic.

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7. Pre-op

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use pre-op:

Administer medications as needed and/or ordered Coordinate with the pre-op nurse, the post-op calling of patients.
Observed and assisted during days in the OR, Pre-Op and Day Surgery.

8. Medical Histories

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use medical histories:

Assessed and documented patients medical histories, including allergies and other assessment parameters.
Prepare patients for surgery - start IV, preoperative medications, medical histories, site prep.

9. Acute Care Hospital

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use acute care hospital:

Provide administrative leadership to 110 bed acute care hospital.
Registered nurse in a 940 bed acute care hospital.

10. Surgical Procedures

Surgical procedures include the list of tasks that are done while doing surgery. Usually, a surgical procedure involves an incision with instruments, performed to repair damage or heal the disease in a living body. Surgical procedures are performed by trained individuals such as surgeons, doctors, and nurses.

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use surgical procedures:

Prepared children for surgery/procedures by reviewing identification, consent, surgical procedure and starting IVs.

11. Medication Administration

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use medication administration:

Educated client and responsible guardian of post-operative instruction, including infection, post-operatic complications, preventative measures, and medication administration.
Monitor and ensure that medications are administered as ordered by the physician and is documented utilizing all standards/policies of medication administration.

12. Post-Anesthesia Care

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use post-anesthesia care:

Discharge patients from post-anesthesia care.

13. Pain Management

Pain management refers to an interdisciplinary method to decrease the distress of individuals suffering from pain and improve their quality of life. Usually, it consists of three aspects - medications, injections and surgery, and self-care skills.

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use pain management:

Optimized patient recovery through collaborative care with surgical team, anesthesia, pain management group and respiratory therapists.
Anticipate and manage post-op complications and collaborate with anesthesiologist to provide effective pain management.

14. Pre-operative

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use pre-operative:

Worked in Pre-Admission Department obtaining health histories and obtaining pre-operative testing.
Educated patient and responsible guardian of pre-operative, post-operative and admission to floor or discharge to home setting.

15. GI

The gastrointestinal tract is the stretch from the mouth to the anus which includes all the organs of the digestive system. Food ingested in through the mouth is processed to absorb energy, extract nutrients, and expel waste. The human GI is made up of the oesophagus, stomach, and intestines which are further divided into the lower and upper gastrointestinal tracts.

Here's how perianesthesia nurses use gi:

Assisted physicians with conscious sedation and continuous monitoring of patients during GI procedures.
Provide safe administration of sedation to GI procedure patients.

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What skills help Perianesthesia Nurses find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young perianesthesia nurses need?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To meet the needs of our current volatile and complex healthcare landscape, all healthcare providers will need to understand the business of healthcare, in addition to providing expert patient care. Starting in 2025, all graduates from nurse anesthesia programs will be awarded a doctoral degree, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), or a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP). These degree programs include additional anesthesia experience as well as an understanding of effective leadership, healthcare economics and reimbursement, the use of big data for improving patient outcomes, and evidence-based practice.

What skills stand out on perianesthesia nurse resumes?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To become a CRNA, the applicant must first be a registered nurse and graduate of a baccalaureate nursing program. A minimum of one year of clinical experience in an intensive care unit (ICU) is required. The application process is rigorous, and many nurse anesthesia programs are seeing higher than typical applicant numbers, perhaps due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ICU nurse workforce.

The most competitive applicants will have an overall GPA >3.5. Basic science courses are heavily weighted with respect to both course grade and type of course. A competitive resumé should include evidence of clinical expertise, leadership, volunteerism, and scholarly work. In addition, all registered nurse applicants should have shadowed a CRNA to learn about the profession prior to application. The interview process may include assessments of critical thinking, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.

What soft skills should all perianesthesia nurses possess?

Terrica Durbin Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, School of Nursing, Western Carolina University

Communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, flexibility.

What hard/technical skills are most important for perianesthesia nurses?

Terrica Durbin Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, School of Nursing, Western Carolina University

Clinical skills specific to the nurse's setting, electronic recordkeeping, patient assessment, and prioritizing appropriate interventions.

Do you want to know more?

List of perianesthesia nurse skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a perianesthesia nurse resume and required skills for a perianesthesia nurse to have include:

PACU
BLS
Acls
Vital Signs
Administer IV

Epic
Pre-op
Medical Histories
Acute Care Hospital
Surgical Procedures

Medication Administration
Post-Anesthesia Care
Pain Management
Pre-operative
GI

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Perianesthesia Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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