Palliative Care RN

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

All duties and responsibilities must be performed in accordance with VITAS Palliative Care policies, procedures, guidelines, contractual commitments, and governmental regulations.

• Provides expert, individualized coordination of care to patients and families.
• Completes initial and ongoing comprehensive physical and psychosocial assessments of patients and families to identify needs and areas for intervention.
• Ensures appropriate referrals to specialists when indicated and supports adherence to the treatment plan, including physician visits for evaluation and ongoing management.
• Assists patients in accessing appropriate services and community resources to improve their overall health and well-being.
• Educates patients and families to enhance their understanding of disease processes and the plan of care, including discussions of treatment options to support informed decision-making.
• Provides emotional support and counseling to patients and families to improve transitions, adjustment to illness, and adherence to the treatment plan.
• Evaluates the patient’s physical and emotional recovery following treatment and utilizes appropriate resources as needed.
• Empowers patients to take control of their healthcare by encouraging appropriate goal-setting and discussions regarding advance care planning and the development of advance directives.
• Builds relationships with other clinicians involved in the patient’s care.
• Attends and participates in internal VITAS Palliative Care team meetings.
• Promotes a patient-centered approach to care.
• Partners with the healthcare team to manage transitions of care between hospital, primary care, and specialty care settings.
• Facilitates proactive discharge planning and follow-up to promote improved outcomes, decreased lengths of stay, and reduced readmission rates.
• Protects patients’ privacy rights and safeguards confidentiality when releasing patient information.
• Utilizes a customer-service approach in all interactions with VITAS customers.
• Adheres to confidentiality requirements regarding patients, families, staff, and the organization.
• Participates in the on-call rotation as needed.

This position description does not state or imply that the duties listed are the only duties to be performed by an employee in this position. Employees may be required to perform additional job-related duties as assigned by their supervisor or management.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.

Experience

• Minimum of two years of experience in an acute care setting preferred.
• One to two years of case management experience in a community-based setting, such as home health, rehabilitation, or hospice, preferred.
•  Knowledge of the interdisciplinary team concept.
• Experience in patient education, care planning, and management desired.
• Exceptional communication and customer-service skills.
• Ability to communicate tactfully, both verbally and in writing, with department heads, managers, coworkers, and vendors to resolve problems and negotiate solutions.
• Working knowledge of computers and internet-based systems, including the ability to navigate automated systems and software applications such as Outlook, Excel, and Word.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree or higher preferred.
• Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) certification preferred.
• Current and valid professional license in the state where the position is based.
• Current CPR and BLS/ACLS certification.
• Reliable transportation, a current state driver’s license, and automobile insurance.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

EOE/AA M/F/DV