Registered Nurse - PCU

Position Summary

Baptist Health Walker Hospital

Full Time - Three 12 hour shifts

7a-7p 

Position Summary

Administers patient care in an area in a hospital or inpatient setting where patients have an advanced illness or injury that routinely requires timely, intense, and complex care to stabilize and support the patient's medical condition. These areas require a lower caregiver-to-patient ratio and highly trained team members with advanced skills.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Demonstrates critical knowledge, skills, and judgement to care for patients requiring complex assessment and therapies, high intensity interventions, and high-level continuous nursing vigilance.
• Utilizes information and assessment data to anticipate and respond with confidence and adapt to rapidly changing patient conditions.
• Identifies and prioritizes information to take immediate and decisive evidence-based, patient focused action.
• Monitors and adjusts specialized equipment used on patients, and interprets and records electronic displays, such as intracranial pressures, central venous pressures, pulmonary artery pressures, and cardiac rhythms from cardiac monitors, respirators, ventilators, oxygen pumps, etc.
• Responds to life-saving situations based on nursing standards and protocol.
• Observes, monitors, and assesses patients’ condition, recognizes, identifies, and interprets serious situations and calls Physician or takes preplanned emergency measures when Physician is not immediately available.
• Assesses patient’s needs and develops/revises an individualized plan of care based on patient needs and responses. Evaluates the patient’s progress toward attaining expected outcomes.
• Respects diversity by building respectful relationships with all team members and customers.
• Functions as a patient and family advocate.
• Demonstrates advanced knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served on his or her assigned unit/ department.
• Serves as a preceptor, charge nurse, unit educator, and/ or nurse clinician.
• Communicates and collaborates with medical staff and interdisciplinary team to effectively plan and manage the unit/department.
• Serves as a role model for staff and supports the hospital and nursing department’s goals and strategies.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span, assesses the data reflective of the patient’s status, and interprets the necessary information needed to identify each patient’s requirements relative to his or her age specific needs.
• Coordinates the care and delegates as appropriate to other team members on a defined group of patients.
• Documents patient care in a knowledgeable, skillful, and consistent manner meeting all required and regulatory standards. This includes but is not limited to patient assessment, education, medication administration, treatments, and patient safety.
• Demonstrates competency in nursing skills and use of patient care/unit equipment as defined by unit/department-specific requisite skills.
• Prioritizes patient care in an ongoing manner in accordance with Evidence-Based Practice Standards of Care.
• Practices effective problem identification and resolution.
• Delegates tasks and duties to healthcare team members in accordance with the patient’s needs and the team member’s capabilities and qualifications.
• Communicates appropriate information regarding patient condition or unit concerns to other health care team members.
• Demonstrates caring practices by providing a compassionate and therapeutic environment for patients and their families.
• Demonstrates awareness of legal issues and patients’ rights.
• Collaborates with the education department and nursing leadership team to effectively transition and support new team members and/or students.
• Maintains reasonably regular, punctual attendance consistent with Baptist Health policies, the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards.
• Maintains compliance with all Baptist Health policies and procedure.
• Registered Nurses who have received specialized training and are able to function as an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator (ECMO) Specialist provide daily staffing for Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) services.
• Specialists work under the direction of unit leadership, intensivist services, perfusion services, and in collaboration with bedside staff to ensure that the patient on ECMO has adequate perfusion, corrects for proper acid-base balance, and provides for hemodynamic stability within ordered parameters.
• Nursing ECMO Specialists work in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and communicate with physicians, perfusionists and other members of the healthcare team to interpret, adjust and complete treatment specific care for the ECMO patient.
• ECMO specialists are expected to perform required technical skills with efficiency, accuracy and safety while anticipating, troubleshooting, and managing crises and emergency situations according to policy and procedure.
• Performs scheduled, un-scheduled, and emergency ECLS in the hospital setting.
• Operates all ECMO equipment under the direction of MD/perfusion providers.
• Monitors and optimizes the ECMO circuit and related equipment during the management period.
• Accurately administers blood products and medications through the ECMO circuit when ordered.
• Manages any equipment when connected in-line with ECMO circuit.
• Management of ECLS during transport.
• Ensures continuous ECLS coverage.
• Attends Mandatory Quarterly Simulations.

Other Related Functions

• The professional nurse contributes to the knowledge and skills of others, and the continuous improvement of the quality of health care practice and organizational outcomes.
• Participates and may lead unit level and/or organizational level committees of nursing practice and performance improvement.
• Participates in department and organizational peer review, mentoring, and coaching regarding professional practice or role performance.
• Practices efficient use of supplies and maintains a clean, safe, and organized work area.
• Attends staff development in-services, department meetings, and/or nursing committee meetings.
• Partners with the nursing leadership team to identify professional development needs.
• Assumes responsibility for one’s own professional development and continuing education.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.
• Maintains equipment and supplies for use in ECMO/perfusion services and provides pertinent information to supervisor/director in conjunction with biomed or vendors.
• Provides critical nursing resource support to CVICU or other areas as directed by leadership when not providing ECLS services.

Qualifications

Education/Training

• Graduate of an approved school of nursing.
• Meets all mandatory, developmental, and performance competency requirements for Baptist Health and unit/department.

Licensure/Certification

• Maintains current State of Alabama RN license or valid eNLC multistate RN license
• Maintains current BLS/Healthcare Provider certification.
• ACLS, NRP, PALS, TNCC are required for certain areas. NRP required for Neonatal Intensive care Unit (NICU).

Experience

• 1 year experience required unless approved by AVP level or above.