STAFF NURSE UNION, RN - SENIOR CARE UNIT

Staff Nurse

A staff nurse is a professional nurse who delegates and coordinates patient care, based upon a documented assessment of the patients needs. The staff nurse applies the nursing process of assessment, planning interventions, implementing the plan of care, and evaluating that care. The nurse is a patient advocate, who in conjunction with the other members of the healthcare team guides the patient safely through the hospital stay. The staff nurse is responsible to the nurse unit manager, or in her/his absence, the supervisor. Staff R.N.s report to the charge nurse regarding patient care matters and understand chain of command.

Job duties include accurately communicating patient data to receiving provider at transitions of care, accurately providing and delegating patient care, collaborating with health care team members to complete hourly rounding, transcribing, observing, and coordinating physician orders, obtaining lab and radiology reports off computer, notifying physician of abnormal results in a timely manner, documenting in a complete, concise manner, utilizing patient plan of care format, participating in discharge planning with the coordination of the Clinical Nurse Leader, initiating, maintaining, administering, and documenting IV Therapy, assisting with orientation of new and current staff and students, coordinating patient/family teaching, checking emails and online learning assignments on a regular basis, and appropriately delegating patient care utilizing clinical judgment and maintaining accountability for patient care.

If designated charge nurse for the department, duties include assisting manager with staff evaluations through input, assisting with quality data collection, assisting supervisor/manager with shift staffing, charge nurse assigns staff for patient care based on patient acuity, experience of nurses and mix of colleagues, i.e., float nurses, nurses pulled from other nursing units, charge nurse assures checking/care and documentation of equipment.

Intensive Care Unit: Able to lead Code Blue until the arrival of physician. Responds quickly to Rapid Response Team alerts when assigned, competently and efficiently assessing the patient status, and working with the physician and team to manage the care of the patient.

Senior Care Unit: Understands restraint/seclusion policy, procedure, assessments, time frames, criteria for discontinuation and documentation. Understands the development of the Individual Treatment Plan, treatment team meeting time frames, evaluation, and documentation. Understands and demonstrates the ability to complete nursing admission, MMSE, GDS, Zung Anxiety Scale, Suicide Assessment, and geriatric functional scale. Is able to facilitate and participate in group therapy activities.

Dialysis: Provide hemodialysis under the supervision of a physician. Requires yearly Hepatitis B titer to be completed and reviewed by the Colleague Health Nurse.

Health Caring Standards/Values include greeting customers, visitors, and colleagues immediately with a smile, warm greeting, and introduction, calling them by name if possible; exceeding the expected and anticipating the unexpected by asking, Is there anything else I or a fellow Colleague can do for you?; always providing a comforting, timely, caring departure, or discharge, and always saying thanks for allowing us to serve; integrity, openness, and fairness in all you do; teamwork; pride in department; individual creativity and innovation; compassion and caring; and maintaining department and hospital standards and policies.

Age-appropriate care: Colleague has been instructed in providing customer service and on interacting with age groups as related to the departments general client population: including use of appropriate interventions, communication, and skills to match the age and/or abilities of the patient/family. Note: Critical Care division does not admit patients under the age of eighteen (18) years of age.

Machines, tools, equipment used: Must be knowledgeable in all instruments and machines used by nursing personnel.

Education, training, and experience: Currently licensed by the Ohio State Board of Nursing and or multistate licensure. Has been actively employed in a hospital-based nursing within the past 5 years, or completion of a state approved R.N. refresher course within the past year or is a recent graduate of an accredited school of nursing (R.N.) or is teaching in an acute care facility. Shows evidence of participation in continuing education and the unit-based Quality Program. Successful completion of the Registered Nurse Orientation Program at Alliance Community Hospital. Successful completion of any additional educational requirements of the hospital or the nursing unit assigned. Maintains current BLS certification through the American Heart Association. If applicable, pay a service fee or join and maintain membership in O.N.A. and the Alliance Local Unit of O.N.A. within 31 days of employment. Must be computer-literate to complete task(s) as required Senior Care Unit # Crisis Intervention and De-Escalation (CIDE) certified within 3 months and maintained annually. 3 West, ICU, PCU # Floats- Must complete critical care course upon hire (effective hire date in 2022). Obtain and maintain ACLS certification through the American Heart Association within 6 months of hire. Crisis Intervention and De-Escalation (CIDE) certified within 3 months and maintained annually. ICU, PCU # Floats - NIH stroke scale obtained and maintained within 6 months of hire. Hemodialysis trained nurses # Minimum of 1 year dialysis experience preferred. Minimum of 1-year critical care experience. Successful completion of AACH dialysis training program, or able to provide documentation of dialysis training.

Physical requirements include standing/walking for up to full scheduled shift per day, bending to reach items on floor or bedside level, reaching overhead, reaching over a bed far enough to give care and turn patients, pushing or pulling patients or necessary equipment, lifting 50 lbs. intermittently, unassisted, moving/transferring and ambulating patients unassisted and/or assisted as necessary using good body mechanics or appropriate techniques, lifting, holding, and/or supporting a patients extremity or trunk for a period during a procedure, climbing onto step stool and to apply a minimum of 25-pound pressure/force for compressions during CPR, wearing personal protective equipment for an extended period, as necessary, able to turn and twist as necessary, ability to squat, kneel, or crawl as necessary, ability to see clearly and able to distinguish appropriate rhythms from a minimum distance of 6 feet, ability to hear normal speaking voices, ability to communicate verbally and over the telephone in clear speech, and ability to write clearly.

Responsible to: Nurse Manager, Shift Supervisor, Vice President of Nursing/Operations

Aultman Health Foundation