The Pre-admission Unit (PAU) is a special unit at AUBMC where patients are fully prepared for their surgery. The ultimate goal is a safe and smooth hospital stay. In order to maximize perioperative/postoperative service delivery and improve patient experience, the PAU works closely with other hospital units and services at AUBMC. This close collaboration is the foundation of best practice in the establishment, implementation, delivery and continuous quality improvement at PAU.
Patients visit the PAU at least a week before their elective surgery and are assessed by a team of nurses and physicians. This multidisciplinary team is headed by a staff anesthesiologist who is responsible for the perioperative surgical clearance. Therefore, after a full medical history and physical exam some workup might be ordered such as blood tests and imaging depending on the surgery and the patient’s condition. In addition, PAU offers an opportunity to educate patients on their risk factors and the means to manage and reduce them. This includes advice on weight management, nutritional status, smoking cessation and alcohol abuse. PAU also addresses post operative pain control by discussing in detail different pain management modalities with the patients.
Currently the PAU at AUBMC receives an average of 550 patients per month that make up about 65% of the total surgical patients. With the anticipated increased load in the near future the PAU administration is working relentlessly to cope with this challenge while assuring efficacy and patient safety.
The PAU rotation is considered a great experience for medical students rotating in anesthesia. Students are able to shadow anesthesia staff and are exposed to a variety of patients for preoperative anesthesia clearance. Moreover, researchers have a unique opportunity to approach and enroll patients in studies at the PAU.
Samar Taha, MDPre-admission Unit Director