RN Clinical, Lead - 8E Tele - Full Time 12 Hour Nights (Non-Exempt) (Union)

Nurse Lead

The Nurse Lead is a Registered Nurse who works under the direction of the manager to facilitate safe and efficient operational flow of the nursing unit. The Nurse Lead is the first line clinical support for staff, physicians and other providers. Through interprofessional collaboration, the Nurse Lead will ensure that patient and staff needs are met while coordinating the patient flow into and out of the unit. The Nurse Lead will also contribute to patient care by taking a patient assignment. This clinician will function as part of interprofessional teams by communicating, planning, and implementing care directly with other healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, social workers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners.

Essential Duties

• Assessment
• Completes an initial unit assessment at the beginning of the shift
• Makes formal rounds to include population specific patient assessment and interaction with staff regarding patient care
• Assesses staff competencies and appropriateness of staff assignments
• Provides direct patient care
• Identifies actual or potential patient or staff safety risks
• Collects information about potential admission and discharges by review of information from the admissions schedule, shift report, patient, family and/or nurse interview and collaboration with physicians and the health care team
• Observes and ensures National Patient Safety Goals
• Continually reassesses unit and patient needs
• Identifies potential barriers to admission, discharges and transfers
• Assesses unit staffing needs for the oncoming shift using patient acuity and oncoming staff competencies
• Ensures complete and accurate documentation of patient acuity, staffing, and breaks as required per Title 22
• Planning
• Ensures timely communication of projected staffing plan to Patient Flow Center each shift
• Intervention
• Utilizes professional, respectful, effective communication to delegate and direct unit activities and patient assignments
• Supports the staffing and operational needs of the unit and organization by taking a patient assignment
• Ensures completion of required unit routines including resolution of narcotic discrepancies and overrides, crash cart check, and other unit specific tasks as assigned
• Meets with patient and family regarding feedback and follows-up with issues utilizing the KNOWN Standards
• Ensures and facilitates staff's prompt patient call light response and response to patient needs as appropriate
• Ensures staff breaks and appropriate break coverage, approves overtime and missed meals as needed
• Requires ill/injured staff to have medical evaluation and complete required forms
• Initiates, directs, assigns, and coordinates duties to be performed by staff responding to drills, emergencies, or disasters
• Evaluation
• Evaluates and modifies staffing plan, patient care assignments, skill mix, break assignment and coverage to ensure patient safety, avoid delays in the flow of patient admissions, discharges and transfers and to provide staff allotted time for breaks
• Leading and Role Modeling
• Acts as a clinical resource and support
• Keeps informed of clinical / unit / organizational updates / changes
• Ensures that floats, travelers, registry staff and volunteers are oriented to the unit
• Models compassion, understanding, problem solving and conflict resolution skills amongst the staff to assist patients and families having difficulty coping with their illness and/or hospitalization and maintains good public relations
• Consistently keeps current on clinical, unit, department and medical center changes; shares information with staff members by facilitating shift huddles and utilizing all forms of communication as directed by Unit Manager
• Models expertise through the application of evidenced-based practice in clinical decision making
• Demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment to the unit, department and organization's mission and goals
• Participates in unit, departmental or organizational activities as assigned
• Informs multidisciplinary team members in protocols and guidelines of care related to patients
• Partners with Unit Leadership in making daily staffing assignments in accordance with budgeted hours per patient day and provides rationale for any staffing variances
• Seeks out opportunities for professional development (e.g. certifications, nursing committees, unit based projects, research, published peer review article)
• Effectively collaborates with other disciplines and providers to meet the needs of patients and fellow staff members
• Direct Patient Care Accountabilities
• Follows policies and procedures; demonstrates ability to access online manuals
• Transfers learned scientific knowledge into practical application in applying the Nursing Process
• Appropriately completes Nursing Assessment upon patient admission, at each shift and with change of condition. Completes patient acuity by 0200/1400 daily (except ETC) Optilink
• Interprets assessment information and formulates Nursing Diagnoses
• Develops Plans of Care with individualized interventions. Documents expected/projected patient outcomes. Reviews/Revises/Updates Plans of Care daily based on evaluation and interpretation of patient outcomes
• Administers medication and IV therapy appropriately at prescribed intervals. Completes patient care procedures correctly per policy at prescribed intervals. Delegates tasks based on others' scope of practice and competency. Acts as patient advocate
• Manages restraint use per policy
• Documentation is complete and correct in Electronic Health Record
• Provides patient/family education as needed
• Collaborates with Case Manager and/or physician regarding discharge planning
• Utilizes patient care equipment appropriately and safely according to manufacture guidelines
• Communicates effectively with all members of the healthcare team including patient and family
• Manages time effectively. Able to organize and prioritize responsibilities
• Observes regulatory agency requirements
• Measure based on the appropriate level of care expected: Management of the care of medical surgical patients, Management of the care of patients in the intensive care unit/s, Management of the care of patients in the stepdown/telemetry units
• Identifies and participates in data collection and process improvements related to Nurse Sensitive Quality Indicators
• Performs other duties as assigned. (Examples: Enthusiastic participation in unit activities such as process improvement efforts, preceptor, peer education; changing assignment to meet patient needs, etc.)

Qualifications

• Req Bachelor's degree Nursing Graduate from an accredited school of Nursing (BSN).
• Req 2 years Nursing in an acute care setting immediately prior to application.
• Req Strong critical and strategic thinking, analytical and planning skills.
• Req Organization/time management skills.
• Req Excellent communication skills.
• Req Registered Nurse - RN (CA DCA)
• Req Basic Life Support (BLS) Healthcare Provider from American Heart Association
• Req Fire Life Safety Training (LA City) If no card upon hire, one must be obtained within 30 days of hire and maintained by renewal before expiration date. (Required within LA City only)
• Req Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Healthcare Provider from American Heart Association
• Pref Specialty Certification

Keck Hospital of USC, a 343-bed acute care hospital, provides exceptional and innovative care for complex medical and surgical conditions across a wide range of specialties. The hospital's world-renowned physicians deliver compassionate, customized, patient-centered care and treat the most acutely ill patients with highly innovative techniques and treatment plans. As a leading academic medical center, hundreds of clinical trials are currently taking place at Keck Hospital and its affiliated research institutions, giving patients access to novel and promising therapies that are generally not available elsewhere. Every day at Keck Hospital, physicians, nurses and staff go beyond the science of exceptional medicine to bring patients breakthroughs in the art of caring. Join this world-class team providing highly specialized care, up-to-the-minute research, and innovative clinical trials.

The hourly rate range for this position is $49.20 - $104.00. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience, education/training, key