Perioperative Registered Nurse (RN) Navigator- OB/GYN Clinic- Biltmore Campus

Perioperative Registered Nurse Navigator

The Perioperative Registered Nurse (RN) Navigator functions as an integral member of the interprofessional team, delivering high-quality, patient centered care within a gynecologic ambulatory setting. This role is responsible for the comprehensive coordination and management of perioperative patients, including preoperative assessment, care planning, patient education, and postoperative follow up.

The RN Navigator systematically collects and analyzes patient health data to develop, execute, and evaluate individualized plans of care. This position supports surgical readiness by reviewing referrals, entering hospital orders, coordinating services, and ensuring appropriate scheduling for consultations and procedures, both in office and at the hospital.

The RN responsibilities include patient education, care coordination, management of individualized follow-ups, and delivery of clinical care across multiple modalities including telephone triage, in-office procedural support (with or without nitrous oxide administration), direct patient care, and EHR management.

Specific Responsibilities

Clinical Practice and Quality of Care

• Deliver evidence-based nursing care in collaboration with the interprofessional team, incorporating established standards of practice and patient outcome goals.
• Perform comprehensive patient assessments, including review of surgical readiness components such as diagnostic testing, medication reconciliation, and medical clearance.
• Develop and implement individualized plans of care in collaboration with providers and care teams.
• Continuously evaluate patient response to interventions and modify care plans as appropriate.
• Manage perioperative patient follow-up, including pathology review, postoperative assessments, and communication of results.
• Oversee and coordinate care for patients requiring specialized monitoring (e.g., serial coagulation studies for patients on anticoagulants), ensuring adherence to follow-up plans.
• Participate in the development and implementation of standardized clinical protocols, workflows, and patient communication tools (e.g., pre- and post-operative instructions delivered in person at pre-operative appointment).
• Document all assessments, interventions, and patient interactions accurately and in a timely manner in the EHR.
• Provide patient-centered education tailored to individual learning needs, utilizing teach-back methodology to ensure understanding.
• Deliver care that is safe, ethical, culturally competent, and aligned with best practices.

Care Coordination & Patient Navigation

• Review gynecologic surgical referrals to ensure appropriate triage, scheduling, and preparation for consultation or procedure.
• Coordinate patient care across multiple providers, departments, and external entities to ensure continuity and efficiency.
• Facilitate preoperative and postoperative workflows, including in-person patient education and interdisciplinary communication.
• Support timely follow-up on diagnostic testing, abnormal results, and care transitions.
• Coordinate and schedule in-office gynecologic procedures, ensuring appropriate patient preparation, documentation, and resource availability.
• Assist with prior authorization processes for procedures and diagnostic services, ensuring timely submission of required clinical documentation and follow-up with payers.

Clinical Skills & Procedures

• Conduct telephone and in-person triage to assess patient needs and prioritize care.
• Initiate and manage intravenous (IV) therapy as indicated.
• Perform or assist with clinical procedures, including: In office procedures, with or without nitrous oxide administration, Dressing changes or wound care, Staple/suture removal, Drain removal, Postoperative Foley catheter and PVR management
• Administer and manage medications in accordance with provider orders and established protocols.
• Respond effectively to urgent and emergent patient care situations.

Operational & Professional Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate, timely, and compliant documentation within the electronic health record.
• Execute and support clinical protocols and workflow standardization initiatives.
• Serve as a clinical resource and mentor to team members.
• Assist in managing patients with complex needs, including chronic conditions, acute episodes, and behavioral health considerations, while promoting prevention and wellness.
• Support telehealth and telecommuting workflows as needed to meet operational demands.
• Contribute to a collaborative, respectful, and efficient work environment.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

This job description reflects the essential functions of the Perioperative Registered Nurse role but is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities. Duties may be adjusted to meet the evolving needs of the practice and patient population.

Key Competencies

Communication Skills

• Effectively and respectably communicate with other individuals, whether it be a colleague, patient, or patient's family member and appropriately enumerate information in a manner easily understood by all parties. We do this to foster a culture of understanding between all parties, especially in complex and difficult situations, to ultimately provide the best care possible to our patients and their families. You can clearly translate findings into non-technical terms to stakeholders and fellow colleagues. You recognize this is a crucial skill. You prioritize prompt responsiveness, recognizing the important role you play in moving processes forward through communication.

Decision Making

• Ability to make the most appropriate decision in a given situation and then taking the next steps to ensure appropriate and timely completion. This requires conflict resolution skills, critical thinking skills, confidence in your ability to make the right decision in most situations. This also includes ability to prioritize your workday appropriately to ensure the most important tasks are completed on time. You think critically, understand implications of decisions, and manage risk. You understand how your own work fits within organizational context and relates to the work of other teams.

HealthCare Knowledge

• Having the drive to keep yourself abreast and up to date on the new breakthroughs in your area of expertise and communicating them to the rest of the team, as appropriate. This also includes keeping up with your licensure and yearly training requirements within your area expertise along with MAHEC's organizational training. Finally, the ability to apply the depth of knowledge maintained and gained through this process in real life scenarios as appropriate.

Interpersonal Skills

• Showing the ability to meet difficult situations with grace, professionalism, and understanding. Within your area of expertise, showing respect and showing empathy where appropriate with your colleagues, patients, and their family at all times, even when its most difficult to do so. This is done, in part, by effective listening, being your authentic self, showing responsibility and dependability, and being patient with others. You foster commitment, team spirit and trust. You consistently develop and sustain collaborative working relationships, including across functions and departments. You foster an inclusive culture of respect for individual and cultural differences.

Organizational Values

• Adherence to MAHEC's founding principles and incorporating them every day. This includes, among others, having integrity and accountability, reverence for other cultures and equitable practices, ability to manage change, and displaying a clear understanding of organizational dynamics. Doing these things creates a culture where people want to do the best for each other and gives personal ownership towards the goal of helping people in their time of need.

Problem Solving

• Having an analytical mind and ability to work autonomously to solve complex problems that may arise. The wherewithal to think logically through a difficult problem and come to an appropriate resolution for a given issue. This helps to drive continuous improvement by thinking through where we can improve in a novel way. Measures success by understanding where we are currently and where we want to go and then applying those new ideas to affect positive change. You place patients and colleagues at the center of your priorities. You possess a high sense of urgency and ownership in solving problems. You look for and identify opportunities to enhance the level of service you provide to others.

Specified Skills

• Knowledge and experience documenting patient care in an electronic health record.
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Ability to make knowledgeable clinical assessments and judgements
• Ability to provide support to the members of the care team (team work)
• Must possess initiative and ability to work independently
• Utilize critical thinking skills in the decision making process.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of medical records
• Ability to provide support with compassion and respect for the individual.
• Ability to prioritize workload and multi-task within the department and across the division is required.
• Staff must demonstrate appropriate judgment in handling daily assignments.
• Staff will demonstrate appropriate technical skills with the utilization of the electronic health record and office based computer systems.
• Must demonstrate appropriate customer service orientation in all interactions within

Mountain Area Health Education Center