Nurse Navigator

Nurse Navigator

Reporting to the Clinical Operations Manager, the Nurse Navigator (NN) in the Student Wellness Center provides focused assistance to patients who are students with complex medical needs. The NN ensures seamless patient care is provided to students who require assistance coordinating medical care, navigating transitions of care, coordinating complex referrals, and closely following students who have been recently hospitalized. The Nurse Navigator works with providers, campus partners, and others to meet student care needs. They may provide direct patient care when required as well as facilitate comprehensive coordination of care for patients, eliminate barriers to timely care, facilitate interactions to referred services, increase patient and provider satisfaction, and function as the primary point of contact for patients. The NN functions as the resource nurse on the floor in the absence of the Clinical Operations Manager.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the central point of contact for all patients with identified chronic and medically complex conditions such as (but not limited to) asthma, COPD, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, HIV, heart and vascular disease, cancer, MSK, transplant, etc., as well as psychiatric and behavioral diagnoses.
• Works with patients who require primary care follow up after discharge from the emergency room and/or inpatient hospitalization. Assists patients in navigating medical, nursing, ancillary, and other supportive services.
• Partners with provider and administrative team to facilitate, coordinate, and ensure patient access to clinical and support services.
• Works directly with students to identify and anticipate clinical needs.
• Conducts follow up phone calls with patients at the request of the provider; coordinates follow up activities, answers questions, and reviews and ensures understanding of plan of care.
• Provides education to patients, families, and significant others; acts as an information resource to students, health care professionals, and relevant campus partners.
• Ensures timely and accurate collection of patient data, including healthcare access challenges and treatment history, to support quality, compliance and optimal care planning.
• Monitors patient compliance with patient treatment plan and provides coaching and guidance as necessary.
• Assists patients with referrals to outside resources and care coordination as needed.
• Oversees the USHIP referral program.
• Participates in the orientation, training, and evaluation of new staff.
• Provides direct nursing care as needed and when appropriate.
• Follows established departmental policies, procedures, and objectives, continuous quality improvement objectives and safety, environmental, and/or infection control standards.
• Functions as back up to Clinical Operations Manager role in their absence to function in a resource role and provide oversight to clinical staff and manage floor operations.
• Demonstrates a solid knowledge of clinical information and techniques required to assess, diagnose, and treat injuries, diseases, and related health conditions.
• Applies logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Has a solid understanding of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures
• Performs miscellaneous and other job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Experience:

• Advanced knowledge and skill of RN, LPN, and MA clinical practice duties.
• Experience working in an ambulatory care setting (Higher education experience is a plus).
• 3-5 Years of experience as a Registered Nurse in the above responsibilities.
• Advanced training or experience with college age or young adult populations.
• Experience in Care Management or Patient Navigation.

Certifications:

• Current Registered Nurse license in Illinois.

Preferred Competencies

• Ability to demonstrate organizational and interpersonal/communication skills.
• Demonstrated capability to work independently and collaboratively with others.
• Ability to assist in high level problem-solving due to the complexity of the situations encountered.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize workload.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, make independent decisions, and lead staff.
• Ability to function both autonomously and as part of a team.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment with composure and professionalism.
• Possess both a strong customer service orientation and a commitment to excellence and accuracy while working in a fast-paced, multi-tasked environment.
• Demonstrate attention to detail and have excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, set priorities, and meet deadlines.

Working Conditions

• University clinical care setting and other campus settings.
• Fast-paced healthcare environment with frequent interruptions and competing priorities.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.
• Involves sustained cognitive effort, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making.
• Exposure to emotionally complex or high-stress patient situations requiring resilience and professionalism.
• Prolonged periods of computer use and extensive interaction with electronic health records (EHR) and other digital platforms.
• Regular use of communication and information technologies is essential to support care coordination and documentation.
• Ability to work flexible shifts within the open clinic hours.
• Occupational risk for exposure to infectious material and communicable diseases.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)
• List of 3 professional references (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.