Registered Nurse, Shock Trauma, Discharge RN

Job Requirements

JOB SUMMARY: This role is dedicated to improving patient and family centered care by efficiently managing the discharge process for patients. The position requires proactive communication, education, and coordination to ensure a seamless transition from hospital to home or other care settings. The role involves close collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, including physicians, laboratory personnel, and other healthcare professionals, to ensure all aspects of patient care and discharge are addressed. This includes expediting testing, resolving issues, and maintaining open lines of communication to support patient safety and satisfaction. The Discharge RN plays a vital role in promoting positive patient outcomes and supporting patient follow-up.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Discharge Process Facilitation: Collaborate with the bedside RN to prioritize discharge statuses, ensuring timely and organized patient departures.

Patient and Family Communication: Provide clear education and information regarding discharge procedures, next steps, and care requirements to both patients and their families.

Follow-Up Appointment Scheduling: Arrange necessary appointments in the Shock Trauma Outpatient Pavilion to support ongoing patient care.

Medication Issue Resolution: Address and resolve any outstanding medication concerns prior to discharge to prevent post-hospitalization complications.

Testing Progress Monitoring: Track the status of required tests, collaborating with laboratory staff and physicians to expedite any delays and ensure timely results.

Medical Equipment and Access Discontinuation: Manage the removal of medical equipment and vascular accesses as appropriate before discharge.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Ensure all service lines are aligned for discharge. 

Preparation for Discharge: Prepare patients for departure by reviewing instructions, ensuring all necessary tasks are completed, and arranging transportation if needed.

Patient Transport: Assist with physically transporting patients as required to facilitate their discharge process.

Readmission Prevention: Identify high-risk patients and collaborate with Trauma TCC team members to ensure patient follow-up occurs within 72 hours of discharge.

Patient Follow up and Outreach: Oversee and perform patient outreach within 72 hours of missed appointment

JOB TASK LIST  

Discharges   

1. Collaborates with charge nurse, team providers and case management team to complete all necessary details of patient care to establish a discharge order and assists with tasks relevant to discharging patient in a timely manner including:

• Reviews AVS for completeness and accuracy; adds additional education as needed.
• Works closely with unit Charge RN to identify discharge needs.
• Collaborating with Pharmacy to fill prescriptions, resolve medication issues, etc.
• Ensures the patient’s phone number, email, and mailing address are up-to-date in the system 
• Provide education on Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey and convey they may be receiving a survey in the mail.
• Discontinuing medical equipment and vascular access, when needed. 
• Working closely with Case Management to ensure efficient coordination of discharge preparation and post-discharge care needs. 
• Facilitating timely and efficient handoffs to the Trauma Transitional Care Coordinator for medically complex patients.
• Preparing patients for discharge and transporting patients to discharge or discharge lounge. 
• Documents Discharge Education provided.

2. Attends Daily Discharge Rounds 

• Coordinates with nurses and team to promote Discharge by Noon 
• Coordinates with team to ensure Estimated Date of Discharge (EDD) accuracy 
• Identifies barriers to discharge and helps to align all service lines.
• Identifies medically complex patients/ high-risk readmission patients and engages Trauma Transitional Care Coordinator
• Collaborate with TCC to ensure follow-up occurs with the patient within 72 hours post discharge.

3. Educate patients and set expectations about post discharge care 

• Schedules follow- up appointments in the Shock Trauma Outpatient Pavilion at the bedside. 

4. Models independent advocacy for patient/family needs. 

5. Attends Shock Trauma Outpatient Pavilion Shared Governance Meetings; serves as liaison between inpatient and outpatient to improve the discharge process.

6. Attends Discharge Task Force Meetings

7. Follows-up with No-Show Appointments

• At the start of each business day, review the appointment logs from the previous days to identify any patients who did not attend their scheduled appointments
• Contact the patient within 72 hours of missed appointment
• Document all outreach attempts in the patient’s record
• When contact is made, inquire about the reason for the missed appointment and offer rescheduling 

8. Enhances practice consistent with division/organizational operations to ensure safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, patient centered care. 

9. Analyze and interpret organizational level outcomes associated with National Hospital

• Quality Measures, National Patient Safety Goals, Quality Indicators, Nursing Sensitive
• Quality Indicators and Facility Annual Operating Plan. Develops, implements and evaluates organizational efforts to improve quality, safety, service and satisfaction measures. 

10. Takes action to correct observed risks to patient safety. Participates in hospital, departmental and/or unit patient safety initiatives.

11. Reports adverse events and near misses to appropriate management authority. 

12. Identifies possible risks in processes, procedures, devices and communicates the same to those in charge. 

13. Develops positive working relationships and maintains good communication with other team members; follows must-have behaviors.

14. Performs additional duties, as assigned. 

Education & Training : Graduate of an accredited school of nursing. Currently licensed 

as an RN in the State of Maryland. Bachelor’s degree required.

Work Orientation & Experience: Three years of recent acute medical/surgical nursing

experience. Trauma RN experienced preferred. Certification in BLS required.

Skills & Abilities: Ability to a) convey effective verbal and written communications, b)

follow directions, c) organized and manage time effectively setting appropriate

priorities, d) make independent decisions consistent with current policies; procedures

and nursing standards, e) perform mathematical functions correctly, f) adapt hours of

availability to variable and changing needs of the hospital, including all shifts, g)

effectively function as a member of a collaborative team, and h) respond to emergency

situations appropriately, i) provide effective interpersonal, communication skills, interacting the nursing personnel, medical staff members, administrative staff, department directors, patients and their families/significant others, maintaining strong organizational and prioritization abilities.