Registered Nurse

ICU RN Within The Burn Unit

Location: Fort Sam Houston

Schedule: The contractor shall provide nursing support a seven (7) day a week, 24- hour a day operation to include holidays. Below is an example of the most common shift times which consist of eight (8) work hours with a non-paid 30-minute lunch or dinner break, a ten (10) hour shift and a 12-hour shift with a non-paid lunch or dinner break. The maximum number of shift hours to be scheduled in a twenty-four (24) hour period is twelve (12), unless an emergency occurs.

Day Shift - 0645-1515

Evening Shift - 1445-2315

Night Shift - 2245-0715

7A-7P - 0645-1915

7P-7A - 1845-0715

Pay: $51.46/hr & Health & Wellness $4.57*/hr worked (in lieu of benefits)

Holidays: Required

Benefits: Vested vacation, sick leave, holiday leave, Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Short Term Disability

Optional Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(K) matching with employee participation in 401(K) plan

Responsibilities

• Obtains patient history, pertinent family history and advanced medical directive information. Observes, assesses and records symptoms, reactions, and progress; assists physician during treatments and examinations; administers medication and prescribed treatment, completes admissions and discharges and promote convalescence and rehabilitation. RNs are responsible for monitoring and interpretation of collected data by the LVNs and unlicensed assisted personnel, informing the medical staff as appropriate.
• Assesses patient/family knowledge level, develops, and implements a plan of instruction and documents demonstrated level of understanding. Each nurse will manually and/or electronically document all patient care given and the progress of the patient utilizing the BAMC documentation standards in the patient's medical record.
• The RN assesses the patient and plans for appropriate nursing care. The care provided is documented in their patient's medical record along with their progress. RNs also develop and manage nursing care plans; instructs patient and their families in proper care and helps individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their help.
• Communicates pertinent patient information to charge nurse and/or physician as appropriate. The RN verifies transcription of physician orders.
• Administers medication and blood products with the knowledge of actions and usual dosages of commonly used drugs. Medications shall be administered within the scope of nursing practice and include intravenous, subcutaneous, oral, transdermal, rectal and intramuscular. Each nurse will have knowledge of actions, adverse effects, interactions and dosages.
• Performs a vast array of direct patient care procedures to include buy not limited to: range of motion exercises, lifting, turning, transporting and positioning patients, personal hygiene care, changing linen and clothing and feeding patients.
• Manages care of patients for a wide range of procedures of an advanced nature and difficulty where there is a high risk for infection and bodily functions are mechanically assisted by life support.
• Manages and ensure proper procedures are followed with the tissue/skin bank and blood bank.
• Registered nurses shall provide professional oversight for licensed practical nurses and unlicensed ancillary personnel. Plans and implements care with the collaboration of other healthcare providers. Calls report to the appropriate unit/ward and provides pertinent data such as surgical procedures performed, patient problems, nursing diagnosis and actions, patient response, specialized care, and equipment necessary to support the patient.
• Demonstrates the ability to react with alertness and skill in any emergency, e.g., cardiac, or respiratory arrest, hemorrhage, shock, severe physical trauma, and psychiatric reaction. Initiates life saving measures in the absence of a physician. Depending on position and protocol may serve as member of resuscitation or emergency code team.
• Demonstrates the ability to manage interpersonal relationships and maintains composure and reacts appropriately while relating to patients and families; manage distraught, irritable, unreasonable, or angry individuals; and maintain positive rapport with all individuals involved in patient care.
• Assesses patients' conditions for potential crises and distinguishes between normal and abnormal physical findings. Knowledgeable of the pharmacology of most used emergency drugs, anticipated results, usual dosages, and their location on crash cart. Capable of emergency equipment operation; defibrillator, EKG machine, cardiac monitor and other equipment as determined by MTF, unit/clinic and position.
• In addition to medical surgical duties, contract RN performs critical care duties to include assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating age-specific comprehensive nursing care to critical ill patients of all ages. A thorough knowledge of the interrelationship of body systems in maintaining and restoring health is required. The Critical Care/ICU nurse will provide labor intensive care to a variety of patients with numerous complex medical pathologies such as multiple organ failure, trauma and patients requiring intense surgical interventions.
• Manages patients requiring intense monitoring with technological equipment such as mechanical ventilators, adjunct airways, electrocardiograph machines, catheters, arterial lines, defibrillators, renal replacement therapy equipment, transcutaneous and external pacing devices and many others.
• Communicates pertinent patient information to the charge nurse and/or physician as appropriate. Transcribes and verifies transcription of physician orders. In the presence of the physician initiates life saving measures, which include but are not limited to advance cardiopulmonary resuscitation, calculating dosages, mixing, and administering lethal drugs.
• Medication administration includes titration of life-threatening intravenous medications such as vasoactive, anticonvulsants, insulin, thrombolytics and many other medications.
• Assists and manages invasive procedures such Swan Ganz insertion, balloon pump management, temporary pacemaker insertion, arterial punctures, endotracheal intubation, and other invasive procedures.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurses must possess an Associate diploma or Baccalaureate degree in Nurse from an accredited school of nursing from at least one state or territory in the U.S. and must be a graduate from an accredited school of nursing. All nurses must have been a health care provider for a minimum of one (1) year within the past three (3) years prior to employment by the contractor.
• Registered Nurses must have a minimum of one (1) year of nursing experience within the last three (3) years in the area and level of nursing that is to be provided. ICU RNs shall have one (1) year ICU experience within the last three (3) years of nursing experience. A waiver may be granted by the COR in conjunction with approval by the department chief.
• Have and maintain current certification in Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS). Certification in BCLS must be renewed every two years. Contract employees may attend the BAMC BCLS Recertification and Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Recertification Courses at the discretion of the COR and in a non-pay status. With COR approval, additional training opportunities within the facility may be offered to contract employees. Contractor employees may attend in a non-pay status if not during their scheduled duty day.
• Documentation of training and skills appropriate to the RN's particular specialty, a copy of the nursing skills assessment checklist and the results for a medication test that are common to this facility. The applicant must receive a grade of 80 or higher on the medication test and be administered by the contractor.
• Nurses must exercise a positive, helpful demeanor, display courtesy and tact frequently under stressful conditions and duress at an accelerated pace to due to life-threatening patient situations.
• Understand, speak, read, and write English fluently.
• Completed health examination in accordance with Health and Immunization requirements.
• Have no health or physical disability restrictions that interfere with the performance of assigned duties.