Outpatient RN

Where compassion meets innovation and technology and our employees are family.

General Purpose of Job:

The staff nurse is a professional Registered Nurse (RN) who provides direct nursing care to an assigned patient population, service line or clinic department.  The staff nurse, utilizing the nursing process, plans and delivers effective patient care within the Texas Nursing Practice Act scope of practice and within the framework of Driscoll Health System’s vision and mission of excellence and integrated care delivery.  The staff nurse practices within the established standards of practice, ethical guidelines, policies and guidelines reflective of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and their specialty service line.  The staff nurse completes specific duties and maintains current competence in the skills and nursing practice according to the service line or area of primary work assignment.

Essential functions and behavioral expectations: Standards of Nursing Practice

Assessment

Collects pertinent data through initial and ongoing focused assessments to analyze the patient’s condition and follows through with appropriate reporting and actions.  Conducts comprehensive assessments of patients' physical, psychosocial, and emotional needs

Utilizes appropriate tools to gather relevant data to inform patient care decisions

Diagnosis/analysis

Analyzes assessment data to determine actual or potential diagnoses, problems, and issues

Verifies the diagnoses, problems, and issues with the healthcare consumer and interprofessional colleagues

Outcomes identification

Identifies expected outcomes for a plan individualized to the patient or situation

Collaborates with the patient/family to define outcomes integrating culture, values, and ethical considerations

Works collaboratively with other healthcare team members which may include other RNs, Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners (NP), Physician Assistants (PA), Physicians and Medical/Nursing Assistants and administrative support staff to address patient needs promptly

Planning

Develops, prioritizes, implements, and modifies an individualized evidence-based plan of care in partnership with the person, family and healthcare team

Contributes to creating an environment that is patient focused, family centered and is designed to provide continuation of care and patient transition management

Advocates for compassion, responsibility, and appropriate use of interventions

Implementation

Administers medications and therapeutic treatments using appropriate devices per clinical guidelines and orders

Recognizes and intervenes to address abnormal responses to medication therapy and initiates' corrective therapy

Escalates patient care concerns or changing status until resolution is achieved

Coordination of care

Initiates appropriate referrals to the healthcare team based on assessed patient needs

Communicates with the patient/family, interprofessional team, and community-based resources for safe transitions in continuity of care

Ensures continuity of care by communicating effectively with patients, families, and healthcare providers

Acts as a liaison between specialties and sub-specialties, coordinating referrals and follow-up appointments as needed to support the patient continuity of care between inpatient and outpatient care

Performs phone triage, manages prescription renewals, and coordinates follow-up appointments and care plans tailored to patients’ needs if working in an ambulatory setting

Health teaching and health promotion

Identifies barriers to learning, develops and implements education plan based on assessed patient/family needs

that reflects the patient/family values, beliefs, developmental level, learning needs, readiness and ability to learn, language preference, spirituality, culture and socioeconomic status

Uses health promotion and teaching methods, including technologies to communicate health promotion and disease prevention

Evaluation

Evaluates and reports pertinent patient response to interventions based on evidence-based best practice

Evaluates progress toward attainment of expected outcomes and revises plan as necessary

Standards of professional performance

Ethics

Integrates code of Ethics for Nurses to guide practice and decision-making in all areas of practice

Advocacy

Functions as an advocate, seeking direction as needed to provide safe, effective, efficient, and timely care

Demonstrates a willingness to address persistent, pervasive systemic issues

Embraces diversity, equity, inclusivity, health promotion for individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, and spiritual backgrounds across the life span

Respectful and equitable practice

Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with patient/family to ensure patient comfort and dignity without bias

Communication

Use clear, closed loop communication that enhances team information sharing and decision making.  Uses language translation resources to ensure effective communication

Documents according to policy or guidelines in a timely and accurate manner in the medical record to communicate with the healthcare team

Collaboration

Supports goals through participation and compliance in unit activities, shared governance and decision-making

Leadership

Identifies conflict and helps to initiate resolution, seeking assistance when appropriate

Demonstrates authority, ownership, accountability and responsibility for appropriate delegation of nursing care to unlicensed assistive personnel

Assists by assuming a lead role as needs or schedule variances arise

Assumes charge nurse role by completing additional training and competency to support the unit as requested

Education

Seeks experiences that reflect current practice to maintain and advance knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment in clinical practice or role performance

Mentors and/or trains new nurses to their roles for the purpose of ensuring successful enculturation, orientation, competence and emotional support

Supports the acculturation of nurses new to their roles by role modeling, encouraging, advocating, and sharing pertinent information relative to optimal care delivery

Scholarly inquiry

Participates in clinical research by following specific protocols

Uses current evidence-based knowledge, combined with clinical expertise to guide practice

Quality of practice

Complies with and supports regulatory and organizational policies and professional standards

Participates in Quality Improvement

Identifies trends in patient care outcomes for QI monitoring, practice change, and/or staff education

Professional practice evaluation

Participates in improving patient care by engaging in reviewing and supporting practice change based on evidence-based practice

Completes required ongoing development and education/competency/certifications as required

Resource stewardship

Ensures the correct functioning of equipment, identifies deficits and reports appropriately

Integrates connected health technologies into practice to promote positive interactions between patients and care providers

Submits required tasks and documentation to support chargeable and billable care activities

Environmental health

Creates a safe and healthy workplace and professional practice environment void of abusive, destructive or oppressive behaviors

Staffing to Demand & Floating

Demonstrates flexibility in staffing, scheduling and traveling as needed to meet unit and the hospital system staffing needs for the greater good

Willing to float between various care areas, departments, subspecialty clinics or ambulatory clinics as directed by supervisor and according to scope and competency

Nurses may be floated, flexed off or to stand-by according to policy based on schedule, volume and patient care needs and/or work activity demands to optimize resource allocation and maintain quality of care

Supports staffing needs as deemed necessary by each individual Department or Service line.  May be required to work alternating shifts or flexible hours including days, nights, weekends, or take on-call and/or call-back shifts to support regular and surge volume needs.  These staffing changes will fluctuate with patient volume, acuity and staffing matrices

Travel Requirements

May be required to travel to satellite locations to support clinical practice care services as needed to ensure patient access and continuity of care

Clinic nursing staff are required to travel to satellite outpatient clinics as needed to ensure patient access and continuity of care. Supports the coordination of patient care and services at these sites.

License, Education and/or Experience:

BSN preferred.

Current RN license in the State of Texas.

English Language Skills

Bilingual strongly preferred

Certificates, Registrations.

American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR) continuously maintained.  May onboard with AHA or Red Cross CPR and then transition to AHA upon first renewal.

Advanced Specialty Courses (ASC) according to Attachment A

ASC courses should be taken at earliest opportunity but must be completed within timeframes specified on Attachment A and continuously maintained ongoing.

National Certification in specialty must be attempted within 4 years of hire date for eligible role and continuously maintained thereafter.