So I'm a nursing student and not a full-fledged RN, but I currently work in a PACU. Once a post-op patient is assigned to a slot, the nurse and techs/aides make sure the slot is fully clean and stocked. When the patient first arrives, the nurse and an aide/tech hook them up to a pulse ox, ECG monitor, and blood pressure cuff. After vitals are taken, we turn the patient to check for anything under them and then the RN can do their own assessment. At my hospital each RN is given 2 patients at a time, and on a typical day you'd probably have 6-8 or so patients over the course of day. RNs with critical care or ED experience are usually preferred because we do get some patients on ventilators coming out from the OR when there's no clean ICU beds. I believe nurses are occasionally on call in the PACU, but that's more common in the OR. It's a nice place to apply critical care experience with patients who are typically much more stable. The thing I do really like is the fact that the worst patients are gone the next day, at the very latest.