Vascular Access Nurse Specialist - IV Therapy

Primary Location:

JHHS - Jewish Hospital - UMC

Address:

200 Abraham Flexner Way
Louisville, KY 40202


Shift:

First Shift (United States of America)

Job Description Summary:

UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 200 physician practice locations, more than 700 providers, the Frazier Rehab Institute and Brown Cancer Center.
With more than 12,000 team members—physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly skilled health care professionals—UofL Health is focused on one mission: delivering patient-centered care to each and every patient each and every day.

Job Description:

Position Summary and Purpose

The Vascular Access Nurse Specialist serves as the subject matter expert in appropriate peripheral access and peripherally inserted central line access. The Vascular Access Nurse Specialist assists in developing vascular access and IV therapy policies and protocols based on current national standards of practice. This position is responsible for the insertion of peripherally inserted central and peripheral access using ultrasound technology while maintaining current infection prevention practices related to vascular access. The Vascular Access Nurse Specialist is responsible for evaluating catheter appropriateness, monitoring infusion related outcomes and catheter necessity.  The Vascular Access Nurse Specialist assists with educating clinical nurses, members of the healthcare team, patients and families as needed and serves as a resource both in-house and in the community for vascular access, care, and maintenance.  The team member may also serve as educator and mentor/preceptor for various students and nurse residents. 

Essential Functions:
•    Conducts systematic and comprehensive assessments of patient’s vascular needs from encounter to discharge across the care continuum to ensure patient safety, collaborating with the healthcare team, patient and family. In collaboration with patient and family, identifies and prioritizes patient problems based on subjective and objective assessment data, patient safety considerations, patient and family goals and preferences, and nursing interventions and the plan of care.
•    Independently administers vascular access procedures utilizing ultrasound per licensure authority, assesses and reassesses the patient and documents interventions in a timely manner per policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements. Consistently adheres to patient safety guidelines regarding all aspects of vascular access administration.
•    In collaboration with patient and family, identifies and prioritizes patient problems based on subjective and objective assessment data, patient safety considerations, patient and family goals   and preferences, and nursing interventions and the plan of care. 
•    Implements nursing care interventions to meet patient and family center health care needs. Demonstrates competent skills, appropriate clinical judgments, and chain of command to promote patient safety and reach planned care goals and outcomes. 
•    Evaluates care by performing regular and systematic reviews of patient /family responses to interventions; revises the interdisciplinary plan of care in collaboration with other care team members to promote desired outcomes. Recognizes care variances and takes steps to prevent or intervene with potential or real adverse events to promote safe care. 
•    Serves as an advocate for the patient and family, demonstrates respect for their rights, responsibilities, and sensitivity to their preferences. Prepares the patient and family for discharge; obtains feedback to promote positive patient satisfaction outcomes. 
•    Serves as subject matter expert for Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV catheter insertion and education. 
•    Serves as a subject matter expert in peripheral vascular access needs and infusion standards (INS guidelines).  
 

Other Functions:
•    Maintain compliance with all company policies, procedures and standards of conduct. 
•    Independently prioritizes tasks based on need.
•    Proactively uses safety surveillance to prevent adverse outcomes.
•    Incorporates data from the interdisciplinary care team into the plan of care to assure continuity and appropriate patient teaching. 
•    Incorporates antibiotic stewardship in care activities as appropriate.
•    Demonstrates competent skills, appropriate clinical judgments and chain of command to promote patient safety and improve outcomes.
•    Competently and consistently, assesses, conducts and evaluates the outcomes of patient and family teaching, from admission, or episode of care, to discharge. Teaching reflects sensitivity to age, learning needs and cultural background.
•    Performs other duties as assigned.
 

Additional Job Description:

Job Requirements
(Education, Experience, Licensure and Certification)
Education:
•    Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) from an accredited school of nursing (required)
•    Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) (preferred) 

Experience: 
•    Three to five (3-5) years as a Registered Nurse in acute care facility with demonstrated knowledge and experience of concepts of intravenous therapy including optimal vein use, vein preservation and difficult access placement (required)
•    Experience with assessment for and placement of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and use of ultrasound technology for vein identification and line placement (preferred) 
Licensure:
•    Active Kentucky Registered Nurse License or compact license with privileges to work in Kentucky (required)
Certification: 
•    Basic Life Support (BLS) accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA)(required)
•    Current certification or eligibility to obtain Certified Registered Nurse Infusionist (CRNI) or Vascular Access Board Certified (VA-BC) designation (preferred)

Job Competency:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities critical to this role: 
•    Human Anatomy and physiology — Knowledge of human anatomy including tissues, cells, and function; specialized knowledge of central and peripheral venous anatomical structures  
•    Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of customer service and assessment, meeting quality standards for services and evaluation of customer satisfaction
•    Education and Training — Knowledge of education and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects
•    Service Orientation — responsive, informs constituents of process, pleasant to work with, educates and provides timely, accurate information
•    Monitoring — Monitoring and assesses individual and team performance; continuous use of outcome data to improve patient care delivery
•    Problem Sensitivity —Ability to sense when something is wrong or is about to have unintended consequences. 
•    Independently prioritizes tasks based on current needs of the patients and departments
•    Demonstrates competent skills, appropriate clinical judgments and chain of command to promote patient safety and improve outcomes

Language Ability: 
•    Must be able to communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats

Reasoning Ability:  
•    Ability to break down problems or tasks; scanning one’s own knowledge and experience to identify causes and consequences of events; using logic and reasoning to identify solutions; compare alternative solutions and analyze strengths and benefits of alternative solutions
•    Deductive Reasoning —Apply general rules to problems and produce answers
•    Inductive Reasoning —Combine information to form general rules or conclusions
Computer Skills: 
•    Demonstrated computer management skills
•    Considerable knowledge of computer applications, including Microsoft Office
•    Must have the capacity to learn other relevant systems and databases, as needed
•    Electronic Medical Record documentation

Additional Responsibilities:
•    Demonstrates a commitment to service, organization values and professionalism through appropriate conduct and demeanor at all times.
•    Maintains confidentiality and protects sensitive data at all times.
•    Adheres to organizational and department specific safety standards and guidelines.
•    Works collaboratively and supports efforts of team members.
•    Demonstrates exceptional customer service and interacts effectively with physicians, patients, residents, visitors, staff and the broader health care community.

UofL Health Core Expectation:
At UofL Health, we expect all our employees to live the values of honesty, integrity and compassion and demonstrate these values in their interactions with others and as they deliver excellent patient care by:
•    Honoring and caring for the dignity of all persons in mind, body, and spirit
•    Ensuring the highest quality of care for those we serve
•    Working together as a team to achieve our goals
•    Improving continuously by listening, and asking for and responding to feedback
•    Seeking new and better ways to meet the needs of those we serve 
•    Using our resources wisely
•    Understanding how each of our roles contributes to the success of UofL Health