Walking Into PACU Without Feeling Ready? You're not behind — you're just new.
Get the airway red flags, Aldrete guide, handoff checklist, medication reminders, and first-shift action plan every new PACU nurse wishes someone had handed them.
- Built for PACU nurse orientation — printable, badge-book sized
- Plain-language Aldrete scoring guide and airway red flags
- Free. No credit card, no trial that quietly charges you.
Send me the PACU First-Shift Survival Pack
Tell me where you are and I'll send the pack plus a short series of practical PACU emails.
What's inside the pack
Six printable sections written the way a good preceptor explains things out loud — no jargon wall, no fluff.
Airway red flags
The post-anesthesia breathing changes that mean stop, look, and call — written the way a preceptor says it out loud at the bedside.
Aldrete scoring guide
A plain-language Aldrete scoring guide so you can score consistently and explain your number when someone asks.
Handoff checklist
The questions to ask anesthesia before they walk away, plus a PACU SBAR frame for your own handoff to the floor.
Medication reminders
Class-level reminders for the categories you meet in recovery — what to watch for, what to have verified, and what to always double-check against your facility's references.
First-shift action plan
A minute-by-minute structure for your bay setup, your first five minutes with a patient, and your end-of-shift review.
Confidence tracker
A printable orientation tracker so you can see the skills you have actually built instead of only the ones you missed.
Who this is for
New PACU nurses in orientation
You start PACU orientation soon or you are in it right now, and you want structure before your preceptor steps back.
Nurses transferring into PACU
You are experienced somewhere else — floor, ICU, ER — and post-anesthesia recovery is a completely different rhythm.
New graduate nurses
You passed the NCLEX and now you need the practical part nobody taught in lecture: what to do first, and in what order.
Nursing students eyeing critical care
You want PACU, ICU, or ER after graduation and you would rather start building clinical confidence now than panic later.
What nurses say about the pack
“I printed the pack the night before my first PACU shift and actually walked in with a plan instead of dread.”
“The Aldrete section finally made scoring click for me. It reads like a preceptor explaining it, not a textbook.”
“I keep the handoff checklist folded in my badge book. It's the first thing I hand new orientees now.”
Illustrative member quotes · names shortened for privacy
The parts of new PACU nurse orientation nobody warns you about
Every one of these is normal. Every one of these gets easier with structure.
You freeze during the anesthesia handoff and forget what to ask.
A handoff checklist you can hold in your hand until the questions become automatic.
You are not sure which post-op breathing change is normal and which one is not.
Airway red-flag reminders plus PACU case studies that walk through what to assess first.
You second-guess your Aldrete score and your discharge readiness call.
An Aldrete scoring guide and printable cheat sheets you can review before you chart.
You have questions but do not want to look like you should already know.
AI Baddie Bestie answers at 3 a.m. without a face, and the community answers without judgment.
You are studying for CPAN with scattered free PDFs.
CPAN study resources and board-style quizzes with rationales, organized in one place.
Who's behind Baddie RN
Baddie RN was built by BaLinda Taylor, MSN, RN.
She became an LPN at 28, an RN at 40, and finished her MSN after that — while working, while raising a family, while being told more than once that she was starting too late.
Nothing about that path was fast, and nothing about it was handed to her. What she remembers most is how much of nursing gets learned in the gaps: the preceptor who explains the why, the nurse who answers the question you were embarrassed to ask, the checklist somebody finally writes down.
Baddie RN exists so newer nurses do not have to hunt for those gaps. Practical education, plain language, zero gatekeeping — the preceptor she wishes she had, in your pocket.
After the pack, there's the whole app
The Baddie RN membership is $9.99/month — practical PACU education, clinical quizzes with rationales, case studies, printable cheat sheets, CPAN study resources, AI Baddie Bestie, and a community that answers without judgment. Cancel anytime.
- Practical PACU education built from real recovery-room practice
- Clinical quizzes with rationales, not just right answers
- Realistic case studies you work through step by step
- Printable cheat sheets for your badge book
- AI Baddie Bestie — your preceptor-in-your-pocket
- A supportive nursing community, no gatekeeping
- New resources added regularly
- Cancel anytime
Questions nurses ask before downloading
Is the PACU First-Shift Survival Pack really free?+
Yes. It is a free download for new PACU nurse orientation. No credit card, no membership, no trial that quietly charges you.
I am not in PACU yet — is this still useful?+
Yes. Nursing students, new grads, and nurses in other specialties use it as a recovery-room nurse training primer and as a general first-shift structure.
What exactly is in the pack?+
Airway red flags, an Aldrete scoring guide, a handoff checklist, medication category reminders, a first-shift action plan, and an orientation confidence tracker — all printable.
What does the $9.99 membership include?+
Practical PACU education, clinical quizzes, case studies, printable cheat sheets, AI Baddie Bestie, the nursing community, and new resources added regularly. Cancel anytime.
Does the membership help with CPAN?+
The app includes CPAN study resources and board-style question banks with rationales. It is study support built by nurses — it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a guarantee of any certifying body's exam result.
Is this clinical advice?+
No. Everything Baddie RN publishes is nursing education. Always follow your provider orders, pharmacy references, emergency algorithms, and your facility's policies.
How do I cancel?+
Cancel anytime from your account's billing portal. Your access continues through the period you already paid for.
Walk in ready, not hoping
Grab the free PACU First-Shift Survival Pack and start building clinical confidence before your next shift.