Registered Nurse PreOp

Job Title

Registered Nurse (RN) – Pre-Op / PACU / Cath Lab Procedural Recovery

Location

Great Falls, MT

Schedule / Job Type

Contract | Full-Time | Days | Onsite | On-call rotation, weekend, and/or holiday participation required based on facility needs

Key Responsibilities

• Perform comprehensive pre-operative and pre-procedure assessments, including review of medical history, allergies, lab results, and consents; verify antiplatelet/anticoagulant compliance, renal labs, and bilateral pedal pulses for cath lab patients; initiate IV access, hydration protocols, and pre-medications per provider orders
• Receive detailed handoff reports from OR and Cath Lab teams; continuously monitor airway patency, oxygen saturation, vital signs, telemetry, and ECG for arrhythmias or ST-segment changes during post-anesthesia and post-cath lab recovery
• Monitor femoral, radial, and brachial access sites for bleeding, hematomas, or pseudoaneurysms; manage vascular closure devices and coordinate sheath removal; enforce post-femoral bed rest protocols and manage contrast clearance per provider orders
• Safely prepare, verify, and administer scheduled and emergent medications — including high-alert medications such as sedatives, narcotics, paralytics, and antiarrhythmics — via multiple routes; titrate continuous IV infusions including vasoactive drips, nitroglycerin, and heparin based on provider orders and hemodynamic parameters; perform dual-verification with a second licensed RN for designated high-alert and pediatric medications per policy
• Complete mandatory two-nurse bedside verification prior to blood product administration; monitor patients throughout transfusions; identify and respond to transfusion reactions; rapidly administer uncrossed blood products during massive hemorrhage events per provider order; maintain accurate transfusion documentation
• Deliver structured patient and caregiver education pre- and post-procedure, including pre-operative telephone outreach, discharge instructions covering access site care and physical limitations, and post-operative follow-up calls to assess outcomes and coordinate resources

Required Qualifications

• Active, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) licensure
• Demonstrated experience in Pre-Op, PACU, or procedural recovery nursing
• Proficiency in cardiac monitoring, including ECG telemetry rhythm interpretation and 12-lead ECG review
• Competency in IV insertion and maintenance, medication administration via oral, IV, IM, and subcutaneous routes, and blood product administration with transfusion reaction management
• Ability to participate in on-call, weekend, and holiday rotations as required by facility needs
• Proficiency with electronic health record (EHR) documentation and standard clinical office technology

Preferred Experience / Skills

• Prior experience in interventional cardiology, cardiac or vascular cath lab, or interventional radiology procedural recovery settings
• Established competency in sheath removal and management of specialized vascular closure devices
• Familiarity with point-of-care testing devices including I-Stat, 12-lead ECG machines, and bladder volume indicators

Why Join Us

• Opportunity to practice at a high level of clinical complexity across pre-operative, post-anesthesia, and interventional cardiology recovery care in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment
• Work alongside cardiac cath lab, operating room, and anesthesia teams on a diverse and clinically challenging patient population