In 2023, during her graduate year in the Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU), Caryl trialled a new PACU Observation Chart which involved a new, clearer system of documenting including Primary Patient Assessment, Escalation Criteria, Medication Documentation, and Discharge Criteria. Seeing how this improved the documentation in the unit compelled her to present a tutorial on the use of the PACU Observations Chart for her Graduate Presentation.
Caryl wrote a 7-minute song with a video animations to discuss each section in the Observations Chart. The initial intention was to show her fellow graduates, all working in other areas, how documentation was done in rRecovery. However, Caryl received feedback from her peers and educators, who felt that the video tutorial should be shown to students, future graduates, and new staff members starting in rRecovery as a guide to proper documentation.
As the PACU waits for the final draft of the Observations Chart, Caryl looks forward to seeing her presentation have an impact in its implementation.
The highlight of my career was the whole 2023 Graduate Program. Every fortnight we would catch up with our educators and listen to guest speakers around the hospital. The rest of the session would be dedicated to debriefing so that was the time for us to reflect on our fortnight and ask guidance on areas that we needed improvement on and celebrate each other’s wins.
I feel very fortunate that I get to spend each day with highly skilled and supportive nurses so that motivates me to show up to work with a smile as much as I can and do my best to care for other people. Like our hospital tagline “Our people do incredible things” - I’m here for it.