SON Clinical Instructor/Registered Nurse

Shape the Next Generation of Nurses While Continuing Your Clinical Practice!

UPMC St. Margaret School of Nursing is seeking a compassionate and experienced Clinical Instructor/Registered Nurse to join our supportive and high-performing team. This unique role offers the opportunity to combine direct patient care with nursing education, helping prelicensure nursing students develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to succeed in today's healthcare environment. If you're passionate about mentorship, teaching, and making a lasting impact on future nurses, this is an exciting opportunity to advance your career while continuing to practice at the bedside.

In this role, you'll spend three 8-hour shifts each week supporting students within the School of Nursing and one 12-hour clinical shift providing patient care in the hospital setting. The schedule is Monday through Friday with no weekends, holidays, or on-call responsibilities. You'll join a collaborative team dedicated to student success, evidenced by our graduates achieving a 100% NCLEX pass rate for two consecutive years.

Candidates with experience precepting students or new nurses are encouraged to apply. A BSN and enrollment in an MSN program are preferred, along with at least one year of clinical nursing experience. Pediatric or obstetric experience is a plus.

This is an excellent opportunity for nurses who are passionate about developing future healthcare professionals while maintaining their clinical expertise!

Responsibilities

• Serves as a role model of professional nursing practice for students and peer nursing staff by serving as a recognized unit leader in one or more of the following areas: clinical expertise, teacher, specialized resource nurse, and/or evidence based practice.Consistently gives appropriate feedback to all members of the health care team and participates in the nursing peer review process.Promotes change that enhances the quality of patient care and the unit environment.Serves on teams and manages relationships with other faculty members as a part of daily practice.Demonstrates highly developed clinical assessment and analytical skills within the context of Relationship Based Care.Reflects a commitment to nursing, the school and the program goals.Explores creative and innovative teaching learning strategies during conferences and on the clinical unit.
• Utilizes information technology skillfully to support the teaching learning process.Demonstrates interest and respect for learners through mentoring and knowledge sharing.Provides quality instruction to groups of students in the clinical area utilizing teaching learning concepts reflective of best practicein nursing education.Provides timely, thoughtful and constructive feedback and evaluations to learners.Establishes and maintains positive, caring relationships with students, faculty, management, patients/families and all othermembers of the health care team.Works productively and effectively within a complex educational and patient care environment.Creates meaningful clinical learning assignments based on student learning needs.Utilizes critical thinking skills necessary to lead students in the application of the nursing process in the clinical area.Applies the nursing process within the framework of Relationship Based Care to create a healing environment. Formulates daily goals and a plan of care for patients that involves the patient as partner and considers the individual needs of the patient in a holistic manner.Practices solid communication skills, and is able to articulate and translate the patient's condition to other care providers and to negotiate and make recommendations for changes in patient care and unit practices.Patient documentation is comprehensive and promotes communication between caregivers.Demonstrates critical thinking in the identification of clinical, social, safety, psychological and spiritual issues for the patient care within an episode of care and in educational/teaching instances
• Participates in self review by critically analyzing strengths, areas for improvement in relation to performance as a clinical instructor.Receives and utilizes constructive feedback to improve clinical teaching and nursing practiceDemonstrates clinical competence in order to provide the highest quality of clinical instruction for nursing students.Demonstrates a passion for developing others, enthusiastically and expertly precepts students, graduate nurses and new hires.Analyzes clinical and behavioral situations, identifying learning opportunities to improve patient care practices. Supports continuous learning and commitment to lifelong learning in the clinical area by sharing research, materials from professional organizations, presenting on the unit, teaching students, supporting journal clubs, etc.
• Identifies opportunities for clinical quality as well as workplace improvement and shares outcomes from improvement projects with peer practicing nurses, other faculty, and schools of nursingApplies evidence based practice as a regular aspect of professional practice.Serves on or leads teams that launch innovations in patient care or support a healthy workforce.Utilizes research and evidence based practice to support improvement in clinical teaching.Assesses student performance to insure care reflects evidenced based nursing practice.
• Builds and mends relationships among colleagues within the framework of a healthy workplace.’Role models keen cultural awareness including preventing and addressing horizontal violence and impairment. Maintains a conscious balance between work and personal life through prioritization and delegation of responsibilities.Works cooperatively and productively to achieve the school goals in accordance with the mission and values of the parent organization.Maintains open communication with other health care team members to achieve academic and organizational goals.Understands how the concepts of trust, respect, professionalism and caring are utilized to build an organizational climate that fosters the development of the student.Applies principles of dignity and respect in meeting the diverse learning needs of students in clinical practice.Resolves and manages conflict effectively and in a timely manner.Creates an environment which recognizes and values differences in students, peers, patients, families and communities.Coaches students on cultural diversity and civility in the educational environment.
• BSN required
• Minimum of 2 years of clinical nursing experience require
• Must be currently enrolled in an MSN program with a plan to complete the degree within 3 years
• Precepting experience required; clinical teaching experience in a prelicensure nursing program preferre
• Appointment to and retention in this position is contingent upon approval by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing
• Demonstrated ability to provide age-appropriate patient care and apply principles of growth and development across the lifespan
• Strong assessment skills with the ability to evaluate patient needs and provide care in accordance with UPMC policies and procedures
• Ability to build and maintain positive relationships with students, patients, families, physicians, leaders, and interdisciplinary team members
• Proven ability to work effectively in a complex environment and manage multiple priorities
• Strong clinical judgment, critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to lead others in the application of the nursing process
• Physical ability to meet the demands of the role, including frequent walking, standing, lifting, and positioning of patients
• Mobility, visual acuity, and manual dexterity required

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:

Current Pennsylvania licensure as a Registered Professional Nurse.CPR Certification for BLS for Health Care Providers.Have Act 33, 34 and 73 (FBI) clearances.Appointment to this position and retention of this position is contingent upon the approval of the PA State Board of Nursing.CPR required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire

• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Act 33 with renewal
• Act 34 with renewal
• Act 73 FBI Clearance with renewal

*Current licensure either in the state where the facility is located or, if the facility is in a state covered by the multistate Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC) agreement, a multistate license issued by a participating NLC state. Hires and current employees working on an out-of-state NLC license who later change their residency to the state where the facility is also located will have 60 days upon changing their residency to apply for licensure within that state.

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran