Hematology/Oncology

Registered Nurse

In accordance with the American Nurses Associations Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice, the registered staff nurse, under the general supervision of the Nurse Manager, is primarily responsible for professional performance and direct patient care. The role encompasses nursing assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, evaluation, and coordination of care for patients and their families across the health care continuum. The registered staff nurse is accountable for clinical, educational, quality and fiscal patient care outcomes using the model of care designed by the nursing department and in accordance with established agency policies, procedures, protocols, guidelines and standards of practice.

The nurse's primary responsibility is to administer ordered injections, pump disconnects and vaccines, triage telephone calls from patient, families and community or referring office, to make follow up calls to patients as instructed by the provider, prescription refills, home care referrals, and work closely with providers and nursing in clinic. Using telephone interaction as the mode of delivery, facilitates callers access to appropriate level of care by assessing needs, offering clinical option, referral to health care providers, services and community resources. Promotes welllness and informed decisions by providing health information, home care advice anad prevention concepts. The nurse must be able to assess a client's health concerns without the advantage of visual inspection or face-to-face interaction. Must rely on their communication skills, knowledge of disease processes, and normal growth and development for all age groups in order to ascertain an accurate understanding of the client's symptoms. Nurse will also take patient/pharmacy requests for prescription refills and enter information into the patient record for Provider review and approval. The nurse must have impeccable listening skills to notice the non-verbal clues the client is giving regarding pain, anxiety, fear, and level of comprehension. The RN will also perform pre-visit review of patient EMR to ensure all required information is available during the visit as well as Visits and Post Visit functions in support of the Provider.

Essential Responsibilities / Duties:

• Consistently and effectively utilizes all steps of the nursing process in the provision of timely, safe, efficient and appropriate patient/centered care.
• Responsibilities include administration of ordered injections, pump disconnects and vaccines, triage telephone calls from patient, families and community or referring office, follow up calls to patients as instructed by the provider, prescription refills, home care referrals, and work closely with providers and nursing in clinic.
• Meets and follows all standards of nursing practice care and standards of professional performance of a registered staff nurse.
• Prioritize incoming calls based on clinical acuity. Determine the severity of the caller's complaint. Direct the caller to the appropriate emergency services if necessary, recommend the suggested medical follow-up based on their assessments and established triage protocols, and provide health information
• Using the nursing process, analyzes the assessment data to determine appropriate nursing diagnoses and facilitates access to the health care system and/or negotiates a satisfactory resolution to the issue.
• Work closely with providers, nurses, and all other members of the medical center staff by demonstrating effective communication, teaching, and negotiating skills.
• Accountable for quality assessment, efficient managed care, and patient satisfaction in collaboration with the health care team. Implements interventions identified in the nursing and medical plan of care.
• Provides and guides patient teaching, counseling, and indicated medical recommendations while maintaining standards of professional nursing practice.
• Document patient/pharmacy requests for prescription refills, reviewing patient medical record and documenting recommended script in the patient medical record for provider review and approval.
• Schedule appointments for the primary care physician group and specialists.
• Review and triage the lab/x-ray results received in the office and notify the medical practitioner of critical values.
• Making follow-up calls to high-risk patients may also involve allowing the nurse to assess changes of status or to ensure that the patient sought the appropriate treatment.
• Documents information provided to patients during triage in any/all applicable electronic health record systems.
• Responsible for communicating to respective physicians any additional documentation/notes from triage event(s) that physician may need for follow-up patient care.
• Performs patient vitals, medication reconciliation, health histories and documents same in electronic medical record for provider review
• Performs pre-visit review of patient information to ensure required information from patient chart, lab results, consults, etc. are available in the electronic medical record for provider during visit
• Evaluates the patients progress toward the attainment of clinical and educational outcomes.
• Performs in office procedures such as EKGs, PFTs, assists with bone marrows, surgical procedures, etc. as ordered by the provider.
• Performs Nurse Only visits for patients that do not require a physician or NP, such as BP checks, immunizations, injections, education, etc.
• Other related duties as required.

Job Requirements

Education:

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations Required:

• Registration and current RN licensure in the state of MA in good standing required.
• Requires current basic life support (BLS) certification.
• Bio/chemo certificate required.
• ONS chemotherapy provider card required, OCN preferred: must obtain within 2 years of hire.
• Minimum 1 year experience, 2 years preferred with demonstrated competence in all aspects of nursing care and independent decision making in adult primary care.

Experience:

• Experience in hematology/oncology, emergency medicine, triage or adult ambulatory care preferred.
• Previous experience with surgical oncology, transplants, stem cell transplants or amyloidosis preferred.
• Recent port access, peripheral IV insertion and clinical assessment skills preferred
• Previous skills with drains, wound vacs and assisting with minor procedures preferred
• Additional certifications may be required for certain practice areas

Knowledge and Skills:

• Basic computer proficiency inclusive of ability to access, enters, and interpret computerized data/information.
• Effective interpersonal skills to facilitate communication with various members of the health care team, patients, and families.
• Organizational skills to set priorities and efficiently complete assigned work. Multilingual skills (beyond that of English) in languages appropriate to the patient populations served by the medical center preferred.
• Relevant clinical experience and/or specialty, certification required for certain practice areas, e.g., enterstomal therapy, epidemiology, peri-operative areas.
• Analytical ability to solve clinical nursing issues and conduct quality improvement research utilization projects.
• Ability to effectively delegate appropriate patient care activities.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills appropriate to the patient populations served. Physical ability to meet the core job responsibilities in accordance with practice setting demands for the patient populations regularly served.
• Ability to effectively manage stress due to critical issues related to patient care, changing organizational climate and personnel issues.
• Ability to utilize judgment and decision-making skills in performing triage exemplifying sound clinical judgment.
• Pleasant telephone manner.
• Excellent customer service skills and personal service knowledge including needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Knowledge of electronic medical record systems and their usage.
• Outstanding written, verbal, telephone and interpersonal communication skills, including time management (ability to prioritize and effectively manage multiple tasks).
• Knowledge of primary care clinical procedures and all processes involved in the delivery of quality care.
• Ability to effectively communicate information to supervisor, peers, or customers.
• Ability to work both effectively with minimal supervision as well as with fellow staff as a team.
• General office abilities including minimum of 40 wpm typing and faxing.
• Reading comprehension skills and computer literacy required.
• Excellent command of the English language is required.