Perianesthesia Registered Nurse Manager

DESCRIPTION OF POSITION:

The Perianesthesia Registered Nurse Manager provides clinical, operational, and strategic leadership for peri-anesthesia services, including Same Day Services (Pre-Operative and Phase II Recovery) and  Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), This role ensures safe, efficient, and evidence-based care for patients undergoing surgical and procedural interventions requiring anesthesia.

The Nurse Manager is accountable for oversight of patient outcomes, staff performance, regulatory compliance, financial stewardship, and interprofessional collaboration. This position supports high-acuity patients, rapid throughput environments, and variable case volumes while maintaining excellence in patient safety, experience, and operational performance.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

Clinical Leadership

• Provide oversight of pre-anesthesia assessment, Phase I and Phase II recovery care.
• Ensure adherence to evidence-based peri-anesthesia standards (e.g., ASPAN, AORN as applicable).
• Maintain readiness for high-acuity cases, emergency surgeries, and rapid patient turnover.
• Monitor quality indicators including airway events, PONV rates, pain management, unplanned admissions, and PACU length of stay.
• Promote safe handoffs between OR, anesthesia, nursing units, and procedural areas.

Operational Management

• Manage daily staffing, scheduling, call coverage, and productivity metrics.
• Optimize patient throughput from Pre-Op to PACU to discharge.
• Oversee block utilization impact on PACU flow and capacity planning.
• Monitor and improve first case on-time starts as they relate to pre-op readiness.
• Ensure equipment, medication, and supply availability in collaboration with pharmacy and materials management.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Maintain compliance with CMS, DNV/Joint Commission (as applicable), state board regulations, and hospital policy.
• Ensure documentation accuracy in the EHR.
• Lead survey readiness and corrective action plans.
• Monitor competency validation and annual education requirements.

People Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and retain peri-anesthesia nursing staff.
• Conduct performance evaluations, coaching, and corrective action as needed.
• Foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, and interprofessional collaboration.
• Support certification achievement (e.g., CPAN, CAPA).
• Promote a healthy workforce culture focused on respect, resilience, and engagement.

Financial & Strategic Oversight

• Develop and manage departmental budgets.
• Monitor labor costs, premium pay, and overtime utilization.
• Participate in service line expansion planning.
• Support capital equipment evaluation and acquisition.
• Analyze operational data to drive efficiency and quality improvement initiatives.

The above statements are only meant to be a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. The incumbents may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those stated in this description.

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required or Associates Degree Nursing (ADN) working towards BSN considered with combination of experience.
• Current Registered Nurse (RN) license required.
• BLS and PALS, ACLS required
• CNOR preferred.
• Minimum 3-5 years of peri-anesthesia or critical care nursing experience
• Minimum 2 years of leadership or charge nurse experience
• Experience in high-acuity or high-volume surgical environments preferred

Physical Demands/Work Environment

• Work may require evenings, nights, weekends, holidays and/or a flexible schedule depending on the needs of the unit/department/service. 
• Requires professional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Ability to deal with stressful situations and conflict resolution.
• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.