Travel Home Health Nurse Registered Nurse (Float RN)

Home Health Nurse

Supervises patient care provided by the Home Health Aide and Licensed Practical Nurse

Education And Experience

Successful completion of nursing education from an approved school of nursing. Current RN licensure in the state in which the branch is located, at least one year of clinical nursing experience in an acute care or long-term setting, and home health experience required. Must also be knowledgeable in OASIS documentation.

Required Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

Current knowledge of fundamental medical-surgical nursing principles and practice. Must possess excellent clinical nursing skills. Must be knowledgeable of principles of adult learning. Must be knowledgeable of accepted standards of medical record keeping. Must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Must be able to use a computer and have a working knowledge of a variety of computer applications. Must possess high-level problem solving, critical thinking, and reasoning skills for use in patient care planning and problem resolution.

Physical Requirements

Must be able to stoop or kneel, bend, lift (at least 50 lbs.), push, reach with hands/arm, and smell when providing patient care. Must be able to use hands to write or type. Must be able to move from a vehicle to a patient's residence with supplies and/or equipment. Must be able to walk up stairs in patient residences. Must be CPR certified. Potential for exposure to blood and body fluids, sharps, and infectious disease. May be exposed to dangerous animals and traffic hazards while home visiting. May encounter patients and other situations that present a potential threat to personal safety. Must be able to drive a motor vehicle. May encounter temperature change and weather extremes.

Working Environment:

Direct Patient Care – 70%; Travel – 25%; Office – 5%.

Essential Job Functions

1. Provides professional nursing services in accordance with the plan of care.
2. Actively participates in the interdisciplinary care planning process.
3. Promotes favorable outcomes through collaborative practice patterns and the appropriate and cost-effective use of resources.
4. Documents accurately, thoroughly and concisely to demonstrate evidence of appropriately delivered home health services; to facilitate interdisciplinary coordination of services; to justify reimbursement; to decrease the risk of legal liability; to demonstrate compliance with applicable licensure, certification, and accreditation requirements; and to provide a data base for quality improvement activities.
5. Demonstrates positive and effective interpersonal relationships.
6. Demonstrates personal accountability for accomplishing work assignments and for professional growth.

Detailed Responsibilities

1. Provides professional nursing services in accordance with the plan of care.
2. Implements nursing interventions and physician orders accurately in accordance with the written plan of care and in accordance with accepted standards of practice and agency guidelines, protocols and procedures.
3. Provides services as established in the plan, on the days and times scheduled with the patient/family.
4. Teaches, supervises and counsels patients and caregivers regarding disease and symptom management, treatments, agency services and policies and related aspects of patient care to promote independence in self-care.
5. Analyzes/explains variances when outcomes and interventions vary from the proposed plan of care.
6. Performs competently and skillfully in emergency situations.
7. Performs job duties in accordance with documented procedures established to maintain the safety and health of patients, families and co-workers. Demonstrates compliance with established infection prevention and control guidelines and policies. Reports any exposure to the appropriate supervisor immediately.
8. Performs video visits as required by the patient's plan of care.
9. Continuously collects accurate data to determine current nursing care needs. Completes the appropriate comprehensive OASIS assessment at the appropriate time point.
10. Assesses and analyzes the ongoing care needs of the patient in collaboration with the Clinical Manager, the patient/family and other members of the care team.
11. Appropriately identifies changes in the health status, self-care abilities or psychosocial status of the patient that indicates the need to revise the plan of care. Communicates these changes to the Clinical Manager as appropriate.
12. Completes the OASIS assessment when there is a significant change in condition in accordance with agency policy/guidelines.
13. Uses assessment data to measure progress toward attainment of stated outcomes. Recognizes the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of current interventions and communicates findings to the physician and the Clinical Manager as appropriate.
14. Proposes modifications to the plan of care for review by the Clinical Manager and consistently implements changes in the plan of care as ordered by the physician.
15. Initiates discharge planning on the first visit. Continually assesses the patient progress toward discharge to assure that desired outcomes are achieved in a cost- effective manner.
16. Performs admission assessments in accordance with agency policy as assigned by the Clinical Manager.
17. Completes the recertification OASIS in a timely manner to accurately determine the ongoing care needs of the patient.
18. Actively seeks family and community resources as indicated to facilitate care.
19. Collaborates with the Clinical Manager to closely monitor utilization and assure that the numbers of visits, treatment disciplines and progress toward goals are within acceptable parameters.
20. Attends case conference to discuss progress toward goals and variances from the established plan of care.
21. Consistently coordinates and communicates with other care team members to assess ongoing problems and needs, to establish realistic, appropriate goals, to plan for continued care and to evaluate progress toward discharge.
22. Directs and supervises the care provided by the Home Health Aide to assure that services remain appropriate to the needs of the patient.
23. Actively monitors the projected costs of providing care against resource utilization to ensure appropriate clinical and financial outcomes.
24. Documents accurately, thoroughly and concisely to demonstrate evidence of appropriately delivered home health services; to facilitate interdisciplinary coordination of services; to justify reimbursement; to decrease the risk of legal liability; to demonstrate compliance with applicable licensure, certification, and accreditation requirements; and to provide a database for quality improvement activities.
25. Completes all forms and documentation accurately and in accordance with agency guidelines/policies.
26. Consistently collects and documents accurate clinical findings on all OASIS comprehensive assessments.
27. Demonstrates consistency between documentation on the OASIS, the clinical notes and the Plan of Care.
28. Appropriately documents the patient's functional status to justify homebound status (if applicable).
29. Documents all verbal orders for new/changed orders according to agency guidelines and timeframes.
30. Consistently describes interdisciplinary, inter-agency and intra-agency communication and coordination of services per agency guidelines.
31. Uses only approved abbreviations and symbols.
32. Corrects documentation errors in accordance with agency policy.
33. Updates the medication profile in accordance with agency policy/procedure.
34. Accepts constructive feedback to improve job/team performance.
35. Strives to develop and maintain positive and cooperative working relationships with all co-workers. Interacts with co-workers in a professional and courteous manner.
36. Assists families in the care of the patient in a courteous and professional manner.
37. Willingly accepts changes in workload, assignments or reassignments if necessary.
38. Promotes team building by demonstrating a willingness to assist team members.
39. Consistently communicates with all internal and external customers in an appropriate, constructive manner.
40. Uses appropriate channels of communication to resolve conflicts and issues.
41. Accepts nursing coverage assignments throughout Liberty Homecare's coverage areas with the expectation that nursing coverage will be Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
42. May participate in the on-call rotation depending on the day/time. Administrator/CM and Liberty RN Traveler will decide if it is feasible for the traveler RN to participate in on-call rotation.
43. Maximizes productivity by appropriately prioritizing assignments for completion in an efficient, effective and timely manner.
44. Completes paperwork within designated timeframes.
45. Initiates and completes work assignments in a self-directed manner.
46. Provides proper notification for absences and tardiness and takes action to prevent and/or minimize recurring absences.
47. Demonstrates accountability for billing problems.
48. Maintains a minimum of 12 hours of continuing education in a twelve- month period, including all mandatory in-services via the contract nursing company he/she works for.
49. Demonstrat