Paula Arancibia
Miami,FL
Summary
PACU Charge Nurse with strong background in ICU and charge nursing responsibilities. Experience includes overseeing daily operations of PACU units, managing patient recovery from anesthesia, coordinating with surgical teams, and ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations. Strengths include exceptional leadership skills, clinical knowledge, and ability to create a nurturing environment for patients and staff. Notable contributions involve improving patient care standards and enhancing efficiency within previous work settings.
Overview
1
1
Certification
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
PACU Charge Nurse
UHealth Doral
Miami, FL
01.2025 - Current
- Monitored airway, pain, and vital sign changes during PACU recovery.
- Communicated patient status updates to anesthesiologists, surgeons, and family members.
- Reviewed recovery orders and ensured safe discharge readiness in PACU.
- Responded to urgent changes using hospital protocols and clinical judgment.
- Maintained PACU standards for patient safety, infection control, and bedside care.
- Administered medications to manage progression off anesthesia medications, deal with side effects and promote recovery.
- Evaluated assigned patients to effectively plan, implement, and document skilled nursing care.
- Completed direct patient care tests to determine current conditions, responses, and needs.
- Employed nursing best practices and clinical judgment to continuously evaluate patients' progress and employed intervention to achieve desired outcomes.
- Provided direct nursing care to post-operative patients in accordance with established policies and procedures.
- Identified potential problems related to recovery from anesthesia and took appropriate action to ensure safe transition from PACU back to bedside unit.
- Responded quickly and appropriately to emergent situations such as cardiac arrest or respiratory failure.
- Maintained current knowledge of professional standards related to PACU nursing practice through continuing education activities.
- Evaluated effectiveness of nursing interventions using evidence based practices.
- Assisted in training new nurses on proper techniques for caring for post-operative patients.
- Utilized critical thinking skills while making decisions about patient care needs.
- Achieved departmental goals and objectives by instituting new processes and standards for in-patient care.
- Responded to emergency situations with speed, expertise and level-headed approaches to provide optimal care, support and life-saving interventions.
- Delivered individualized care to post-operative patients by monitoring pain levels, checking vital signs and explaining next steps to recovery.
ICU Charge Nurse
University Of Miami Hospital And Clinics
Miami, FL
11.2021 - 01.2025
- Mentored and trained new nurses, ensuring they were well-prepared to provide high-quality care in critical situations.
- Facilitated rapid response situations by quickly identifying deteriorating patients and alerting appropriate personnel for intervention measures.
- Established effective working relationships with support staff, contributing to a cohesive team environment that prioritized patient safety and wellbeing.
- Promoted adherence to hospital policies and procedures while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards such as JCAHO requirements.
Surgical ICU Registered Nurse
University Of Miami Hospital And Clinics
Miami, FL
05.2021 - 01.2025
- Assisted surgeons during bedside procedures such as central line insertions or tracheostomies, ensuring proper set-up and maintenance of aseptic technique.
- Managed ventilator care for critically ill patients, ensuring optimal settings to maintain adequate oxygenation levels while minimizing risk of barotrauma or lung injury.
- Reduced recovery time for surgical ICU patients by providing comprehensive post-operative care, including pain management and wound care.
Emergency Room Registered Nurse
Hialeah Hospital
06.2020 - 05.2021
- Demonstrated strong clinical reasoning skills when assessing patients'' conditions, initiating appropriate interventions, and escalating concerns to physicians as needed.
- Collaborated with physicians to quickly assess patients and deliver appropriate treatment while managing rapidly changing conditions.
- Delivered important IV and venous medications to control symptoms and provide effective treatments.
Registered Nurse Supervisor
Cross Garden Care Center
09.2019 - 06.2020
- Developed strong interdisciplinary relationships for improved communication and collaboration with other healthcare professionals.
Wound Care Registered Nurse
Quality Care Health
10.2018 - 09.2019
- Treated and carefully tended to vascular and diabetic ulcers.
- Instructed patients and caregivers on how to clean and dress wounds and how to prevent infections.
- Assessed and treated draining of wounds and burns.
Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit
Guillermo Gran Benavente Hospital
11.2014 - 12.2016
- Streamlined workflow by efficiently prioritizing tasks during high-stress situations, leading to better overall performance of the ICU team.
- Worked with physicians and nursing staff to develop treatment protocols addressing patients' current symptom presentation as well as underlying conditions.
- Provided targeted care and treatment to ICU patients.
Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit
Coyhaique Hospital
01.2014 - 11.2014
- Handled ventilator support, feeding tubes and central lines.
- Assisted physicians with bedside procedures, ensuring accurate treatment administration and timely patient recovery.
- Demonstrated advanced critical thinking skills while managing complex clinical situations involving multiple organ systems failures in critically ill patients.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
ANDRES BELLO UNIVERSITY
CHILE02.2014
Skills
- Task and Work Prioritization
- Adaptable and Flexible
- Reliable and Responsible
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Staff Coordination
- Cardiac monitors
- Emergency Management
- Supervision
- Central Line Care
- Tracheostomy Care
- Vasoactive Medications
- Hemodynamic Monitoring
- Seizure Management
- Unit oversight
- Analgesia pumps
- Anesthesia recovery
- PACU recovery monitoring
- Ventilator management
- Post anesthesia care
- Critical care nursing
- Rapid response coordination
- Clinical judgment
- Critical thinking
- Team leadership
- Resource utilization
- Ethical practice
- Advanced cardiac life support
- Problem-solving abilities
- Teamwork
Certification
- Certifications: BLS, ACLS,PALS, TELEMETRY, NIH STROKE.
Languages
- Spanish
- English
Timeline
PACU Charge Nurse
UHealth Doral
01.2025 - Current
ICU Charge Nurse
University Of Miami Hospital And Clinics
11.2021 - 01.2025
Surgical ICU Registered Nurse
University Of Miami Hospital And Clinics
05.2021 - 01.2025
Emergency Room Registered Nurse
Hialeah Hospital
06.2020 - 05.2021
Registered Nurse Supervisor
Cross Garden Care Center
09.2019 - 06.2020
Wound Care Registered Nurse
Quality Care Health
10.2018 - 09.2019
Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit
Guillermo Gran Benavente Hospital
11.2014 - 12.2016
Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit
Coyhaique Hospital
01.2014 - 11.2014
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
ANDRES BELLO UNIVERSITY