Post Anesthesia Care Unit

The “PACU” rotation is a mandatory two-week rotation  during the CA-1 year at Georgetown University Hospital. The resident will follow patients in both the PACU of the Main Operating Rooms and the Same Day Surgery Suite. Approximately 40-50 patients are recovered in these units each day during weekdays. Admissions to these units include all surgical patients except those admitted directly to an Intensive Care Unit or those who do not require PACU care and are transported to the floor or to a less intense step down environment. First year (CA-1) residents will be assigned one at a time to the PACU anytime after their initial tutorial month. It is assumed that the resident rotating in the PACU will have mastered the basics of mask ventilation, direct laryngoscopy, and intubation during their previous experience in the operating room. Additionally, the basic characteristics of commonly used anesthetic drugs (including narcotics, volatile anesthetics, local anesthetics, muscle relaxants, sedative/hypnotic agents, and reversal agents) will be discussed and its physiological role during the recovery phase.

Core Faculty

Dr. Kerry DeGroot M.D. Associate Professor and Division Chief