NURSE NAVIGATOR

Overview

Registered Nurse, East Tennessee Cardiovascular Surgery Group

Full Time, 80 Hours Per Pay Period, Day Shift

Covenant Medical Group Overview:  

Covenant Medical Group is the employed and managed medical practice organization of Covenant Health, providing comprehensive care across East Tennessee. With more than 300 physicians and advanced practice providers in 20 communities, our team delivers expertise across a broad spectrum of specialties from primary care and walk-in clinics to preventive medicine and advanced surgical and subspecialty services. We are committed to offering coordinated, patient-centered care that spans the continuum of health needs, ensuring access to exceptional providers close to home. 

Position Summary:

Provides professional nursing care within an outpatient clinic setting and coordinates care planning with other disciplines as appropriate. Specific focus on cardiac/thoracic surgical patients as well as thoracic oncology navigation.

Nurse navigator function provides clinical support, treatment access, education and coordination of patient-centered care to benefit the patient, family, and multidisciplinary physicians while helping achieve optimal outcomes for thoracic oncology patients and their families.

Responsibilities

• Maintains a safe, comfortable, and therapeutic environment for patients/families during their visit.
• Receives incoming referrals and provides appropriate scheduling and chart preparation. Gathers appropriate clinical data including notes, imaging, labs as appropriate from the referring provider. Ensures imaging is available for review.
• Prepares patients for scheduled procedures and assists in patient assessment. Accurately records history and performs basic triage procedures per policy.
• Creates nursing history and discuss recommendations for appropriate interventions to practitioner.
• Assist providers with examinations procedures and/or other processes related to direct patient care.
• Monitors and ensures accuracy of recording on patient medical records.
• Assist in scheduling patient appointments per physician order and relays accurately to patients/families.
• Takes calls from patient regarding preop or postop concerns, provides triage, and responds to their needs in a timely manner. Relays appropriate information to practitioners as appropriate.
• Assures test results are received and relayed to the provider in a timely manner.
• Initiate appropriate patient education regarding the steps of evaluation, tests required, plan of care to progress to surgery and/or follow up.
• Develops relationships with referring providers and interdisciplinary teams and their staff as well as provide timely feedback to referring providers.
• Implements care appropriate to diagnosis and per physician order.
• Coordinates clinic patient care with advanced practitioner/physician supervision.
• Maintain working knowledge of insurance criteria and precertification processes for these surgical patients.
• Clinical expertise and knowledge is such that the individual can resolve complex patient/management/physician problems without direct supervision.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to patient's comfort and privacy by using the AIDET fundamentals of communication.
• Ensures an adequate stock of clinical supplies and well-maintained equipment.
• Inspects clinical area daily for compliance with policies, procedures, regulations, and standards as well as takes corrective action when violations occur.
• Demonstrates competence and performing skills to include appropriate delivery of care according to the age-specific needs of the population served.
• Maintain professional growth and development.
• Serves as the essential link between patients and thoracic oncology providers to provide resources and assistance with assessing clinical and supportive care services offered within the healthcare system.
• Assists patients in understanding their diagnosis, treatment options, and the resources available including educating eligible patients about cancer adjunct care including options for clinical trials and genetic counseling.
• Coordinates with multidisciplinary care conferences.
• Follows thoracic oncology patients through the continuum of care per a time period defined by the clinic’s policies and procedures.
• Addresses tangible barriers to care and facilitate referrals to appropriate support services.
• Evaluate and monitors thoracic surgical quality metrics and reports findings as indicated at cancer committee meetings.
• Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives, and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Education:

None specified; however, must be sufficient to meet the standards for achievement of the below indicated license and/or certification as required by the issuing authority.

Minimum Experience:

Three (3) years’ experience in oncology or cardiology/cardiothoracic surgery

Licensure Requirement:

Valid Tennessee RN license.