Registered Nurse - Float Pool

Registered Nurse

The registered nurse renders highly professional and technical nursing care to assigned patients. The registered nurse provides direct and indirect patient care using the nursing process (assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation). Oversees other assigned team members and collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to provide population specific care in accordance with the BORN regulations and professional standards of care.

Essential Functions

• Adheres to the general hospital standards to promote a cooperative work environment by utilizing communication skills, interpersonal relationships, and team building.
• Follows departmental policies and procedures.
• Contributes to the overall quality of services.
• Assumes responsibility for keeping informed about changes.
• Makes independent decisions within the scope of nursing practice.
• Uses the nursing process and evidence based practice to ensure quality patient care is provided throughout the episode of care.
• Assesses the patient's physical, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and social needs.
• Provides competent and compassionate care specific to the unique needs of the individual patients and populations served.
• Individualizes care in consideration of the patient's age, developmental, or physical abilities (including obesity); spiritual, religious or cultural practices; economic status; literacy skills; communication skills; cognitive abilities; and gender or sexual orientation.
• Updates knowledge and skill of populations served to meet patient care needs.
• Applies knowledge of illness, injury, and disease in the assessment process and recognizing those symptoms that need immediate intervention.
• Individualizes a plan of care based on assessments and in collaboration with the patient/family/ significant other, as well as, appropriate resources and multidisciplinary team members.
• Engages patient/family/significant others as partners in caring.
• Updates plan of care and nursing documentation based on continuing assessments.
• Implements clinical and technical aspects of care and physicians' orders in compliance with standards of practice and standards of care.
• Evaluates the patient/family/significant other's responses to established goals and interventions and revises the plan of care based upon this evaluation.
• Demonstrates the ability to set priorities when planning and implementing patient care.
• Coordinates and collaborates with appropriate resources and multidisciplinary team members to facilitate a comprehensive discharge plan.
• Recognizes change in patient's physical and mental status and informs physician and /or another health care professional.
• Collaborates with Case Managers to anticipate discharge needs and address barriers.
• Identifies person primarily responsible for care at home and includes them in patient teaching and discharge planning.
• Creates and maintains a safe and therapeutic environment for patients, self, and co-workers.
• Uses two patient identifiers to match the correct patient with the correct care, treatment, or services.
• Demonstrates through practice principles of infection control and universal precautions, adherence to OSHA standards, Hazardous Material Guidelines, and isolation procedures.
• Safeguards the rights of patients and hospital personnel to privacy by judiciously protecting information of a confidential manner.
• Provides patient comfort and hygiene.
• Demonstrates proper use of equipment and supplies according to established procedures.
• Assesses the patient's need prior to application of restraints and utilizing alternative measures for restraints when appropriate.
• Demonstrates proper technique and calibration of equipment when performing point of care testing.
• Assures equipment is operational and safe or removed from service.
• Responds appropriately to emergency situations.
• Minimizes risk of injury by promoting fall precautions, use of call bell, side rails, and other safety practices.
• Treats patients and family in a non-judgmental respectful manner.
• Takes the initiative to advocate for the patient.
• Makes patient aware of his rights and responsibilities.
• Provides emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to patient and family needs.
• Assures quality of nursing practice through participation in performance improvement activities.
• Incorporates performance improvement recommendations into daily practice.
• Controls patient care cost through: Efficient management of supplies and services.
• Suggestions of new approaches to cost containment.
• Participates in performance improvement activities by evaluating outcomes of patient care and making recommendations for appropriate revisions to the individualized plan of care.
• Ensures complete, accurate, and timely written communication of patient information.
• Completes consistently all parts of the documentation system per hospital/unit policies.
• Ensures appropriate documentation on or in patient's discharge instructions.
• Documents patient's progress or lack of progress in a chronologically accurate and organized format.
• Provides safe, accurate, and timely medication and IV administration.
• Consistently uses the "5 rights" when administering medication to patients.
• Scans patient, medication, and self barcodes where applicable.
• Demonstrates knowledge of drug action and appropriate nursing interventions for adverse drug reactions.
• Verifies or rectifies patient medication record per unit protocols.
• Demonstrates critical assessment of correct drug, appropriate dose, and correct pump settings when caring for patients with continuous large volume infusion, PCA, or Epidural.
• Demonstrates/verbalizing appropriate recognition, reporting of medication variances and problems with the medication process.
• Verifies and analyzes appropriateness of medication/IV fluid orders.
• Ensures correct infusion rates when administering medications using the infusion pump.
• Coordinates and collaborates with other multidisciplinary team members to facilitate a comprehensive educational plan.
• Assesses the need for patient/family/significant other education.
• Formulates and implements an educational plan that is based on assessed needs and takes into consideration learning barriers and spiritual/religious cultural needs.
• Documents education in the patient record.
• Evaluates outcomes of education plan, monitors learning process, elicits feedback from patient/family/significant other, and modifies instruction based on evaluation process.
• Takes personal responsibility for own performance and professional growth and development.
• Initiates and facilitates changes to improve quality of nursing care on the unit.
• Demonstrates the ability to accept responsibility and be accountable for the care given to assigned patients.
• Demonstrates the ability to work well with co-workers and to collaborate with other members of the health care team.
• Accepts and learns from constructive criticism.
• Is self-directed in maintaining clinical competence, mandatory training, and other regulatory requirements.
• Performs duties of charge nurse, as needed, competently.
• Acts as a resource and professional role model for peers and students.
• Assists in orientation and ongoing support of new staff.
• Advocates for the patient by escalating care concerns up the chain of command.
• Manages urgent and emergent situations effectively.
• Communicates effectively.
• Promotes a cooperative working environment by using effective communication skills.
• Communicates and addresses conflicts with appropriate personnel, utilizing listening skills and showing sensitivity.
• Communicates expectations to assigned team members with tact and in clear, concise, and thorough manner.
• Solves problems effectively.
• Ensures that critical patient information and data are communicated across the continuum of care.
• Supports and promotes management decisions, goals and initiatives.

Qualifications

Three 12hr shifts. Every third weekend and every other holiday rotation required.

Education

Other Certificate/Diploma Nursing required and Bachelor's Degree Nursing preferred

Licenses and Credentials

MA RN License

Experience

1 year Med/Surg experience is required. Telemetry experience is preferred as telemetry training is required within the first year of employment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Uses the nursing process and evidence based practice to ensure quality patient care is provided throughout the episode of care.

Creates and maintains a safe and therapeutic environment for patients, self, and co-workers.

Assures quality of nursing practice through participation in performance improvement activities.

Ensures complete, accurate, and timely written communication of patient information.

Provides safe, accurate, and timely medication and IV administration.

Coordinates and collaborates with other multidisciplinary team members to facilitate a comprehensive educational plan.