First Connect Health is seeking a travel nurse RN PACU - Post Anesthesia Care for a travel nursing job in Boston, Massachusetts.
Job Description & Requirements
- Specialty: PACU - Post Anesthesia Care
- Discipline: RN
- Start Date: 07/05/2026
- Duration: 13 weeks
- 36 hours per week
- Shift: 12 hours, nights
- Employment Type: Travel
PACU RN (High-Acuity Night Shift) - Boston, MA
Contract Duration: 13 Weeks (07/05/2026 – 10/03/2026)
Shift: Nights | 19:00 – 07:30 (3x12-Hour Shifts / Monday–Thursday Rotation)
Guaranteed Hours: 36 Hours Per Week
🚫 Absolute Minimum Qualifications for Review:
- Overall Experience: Minimum 3+ years of total RN experience is a strict baseline.
- Travel History: Minimum 1+ years of dedicated Travel PACU experience. First-time travelers or those without external contract history will be instantly rejected.
- Facility Tier: Minimum 1+ years of experience working in a major Academic Medical Center.
- Licensure: Active Massachusetts (MA) State RN License in hand at time of profile broadcast.
Job Summary
A prestigious, world-renowned Tier-1 Trauma and Academic Medical Center is seeking a highly resilient, elite PACU RN for a straight-night rotation. This role demands a specialized critical care background capable of managing the immediate post-anesthesia emergence phase of high-acuity surgical cases. Because this is a high-volume, overnight slot at a major teaching platform, the incoming traveler must independently execute advanced airway rescues, manage invasive hemodynamics, and comfortably navigate complex emergency surgical flows with minimal supervision.
Key Responsibilities
- Phase I Emergence Care: Manage immediate, high-acuity post-anesthesia emergence for complex multi-specialty surgeries (e.g., neurosurgery, transplants, cardiothoracic, and advanced trauma cases).
- Advanced Airway Management: Expertly manage non-intubated and mechanically ventilated patients, identifying and executing rapid interventions for laryngospasm, bronchospasm, or severe hypoxemia.
- Hemodynamic Tracking & Titration: Closely monitor arterial lines, central venous pressures, and intracranial pressures; safely titrate fast-acting vasoactive, sedative, and analgesic infusions.
- Complication Recognition: Rapidly detect post-operative emergencies, such as acute internal hemorrhage, emergence delirium, malignant hyperthermia, or flap compromise.
- EHR Documentation: Maintain meticulous, continuous recovery charting via Epic EMR.
Requirements & Qualifications
- Experience Blueprint: Verifiable background in a high-acuity, fast-paced Main PACU or Critical Care Unit within a large-scale teaching hospital.
- Certifications (Must be active):
- AHA ACLS
- AHA PALS (Highly preferred for late-running pediatric trauma/surgical flows)
- AHA BLS
Unit & Facility Details
- Department Setting: Main PACU Platform (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit).
- Schedule Precision: 3x12 night shifts restricted to a Monday through Thursday block. No weekend shifts are required, providing a highly desirable weekend-off structure.
- On-Call Mandate: No on-call hours are tied to this night assignment.
Clinical Spotlight: Post-Anesthesia Airway Emergency Progression
Operating overnight in a major trauma center means encountering severe emergence complications when support staff is streamlined. The incoming nurse must maintain unflappable expertise in managing the clinical progression of a sudden post-extubation laryngospasm:
- Early Recognition: Identifying high-pitched stridor, paradoxical chest wall movement ("see-sawing"), and rapidly dropping $SpO_2$.
- Immediate Manual Interventions: Executing a forceful jaw-thrust maneuver while simultaneously applying positive pressure ventilation via bag-valve-mask with 100% oxygen.
- Larson’s Maneuver: Applying deep, firm digital pressure to the laryngospasm notch (located behind the lobule of the pinna of the ear, anterior to the mastoid process) to break the vocal cord spasm.
- Pharmacological Rescue: If manual maneuvers fail, rapidly preparing and co-administering an emergent paralyzing dose of Succinylcholine ($0.25\text{–}1.0\text{ mg/kg}$ IV) alongside an anesthesia provider to secure a rescue airway.
Job ID: MGB-28113
About First Connect Health
At First Connect Health, we take pride in being a Joint Commission–certified healthcare staffing agency, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. This prestigious certification is more than just a seal — it's a reflection of our commitment to excellence, safety, and quality in everything we do.
By meeting the rigorous standards set by The Joint Commission, one of the most respected accrediting bodies in healthcare, we've demonstrated that our processes, compliance, and patient care standards are aligned with the highest levels of quality in the industry.
But our dedication goes beyond certifications. Nurses choose First Connect Health because:
- ✅ Trust and Transparency: We foster honest communication, timely updates, and full transparency throughout your placement journey.
- ✅ Best Pay & Benefits: We offer industry-leading compensation packages, along with benefits that support your career goals.
- ✅ Flexibility & Choice: Whether you're seeking short-term assignments, long-term contracts, or local opportunities, we provide the flexibility to suit your preferences.
- ✅ Personalized Support: Our recruiters take the time to understand your needs, guiding you with care, respect, and responsiveness at every step.
When you work with First Connect Health, you're not just another number — you're a valued professional. Join a team that’s focused on your success, your well-being, and your future in healthcare.
Benefits
- Sick pay
- 401k retirement plan
- Weekly pay
- Referral bonus
