Health Care Nurse

At Houston Methodist, the Charge Nurse position is a licensed professional Registered Nurse (RN) who, as an experienced clinician, functions at the Competent to Proficient stage of Benner’s model of clinical practice. This position creates an environment for the management and delivery of safe patient care. In addition to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of a clinical nurse, the Charge Nurse position is a role model and coach to department personnel and assists in developing their skills and knowledge. This position provides nursing care to a diverse patient population. Besides conducting nursing assessments, assisting with exams and treatment and maintenance of medical records, this position assists in coaching and mentoring department staff in areas of clinical and professional practice. Role modeling compassionate communication with physicians and the interprofessional health care team, the Charge Nurse assumes leadership responsibilities with high-level contributions at the bedside, unit, service line, and across the institution. Responsibilities for this position may include but are not limited to leading unit and shared governance activities, assessing unit needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, serving as a clinical resource for both unit and hospital staff and coordinating unit and hospital-wide education in partnership with management.

QUALIFICATIONS EDUCATION Graduate of education program approved by the credentialing body for the required credential(s) indicated below in the Certifications, Licenses and Registrations section

EXPERIENCE Twenty four months of clinical nursing experience with demonstration of progressive leadership skills

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure - Texas Board of Nursing_PSV Compact Licensure – Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) and

NIHSTROKE - National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Certification (AHA) within 4 months

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations

Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security

Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles

Ability to function independently and exercise judgment in interactions with physicians, interprofessional healthcare team and patients and their families

Uses critical thinking skills and clinical judgment to work autonomously as defined by the Nurse Practice Act

contributes to policies, procedure and protocols

Has knowledge of Nursing Unit’s Dashboard and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores

Demonstrates expertise in operating the electronic medical record

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Fosters staff engagement by demonstrating active listening, requesting and acknowledging feedback, making equitable decisions, providing rationale when appropriate, and supporting organizational goals. Anticipates the needs of the staff members and proactively offers assistance. Improves departmental scores for turnover/retention on unit-based scorecard.

Role models fair and consistent leadership skills for effective team dynamics and team building strategies through problem solving, coaching, and developing staff. Coaches staff to use efficient and effective communication to establish and maintain a team environment, and to include the patient and family as a part of the team regarding their plan of care. Provides input into staff performance reviews, as appropriate.

Functions as a mentor and resource to unit staff, provides oversight for students/new employee/preceptorships. Identifies levels of organizational conflict and applies tools to effectively resolve concerns, complaints or conflict with patients, families, physicians and other inter-professional healthcare team members.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Leads the patient and family-centered care standards, as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document. audits plan of care. Practices in a manner that is congruent with cultural diversity and inclusion principles.

Maintains ongoing interactions with patients, families, and staff on the improvement of patient care through leader rounding. Drives department service standards and activities to improve department score for patient satisfaction on unit-based scorecard, through role modeling and fostering accountability.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Models the standards of care related to the nursing process, as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document, by actively participating in meeting and improving nurse sensitive quality indicators and patient safety goals. Coordinates nursing care throughout the shift considering patient acuity, staff skill level and safety to ensure that our duty to our patients can be met. Models the standards related to regulatory requirements and professional practice as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document.

Facilitates seamless patient flow to/from/through the department, leading the delivery of quality family-centered care throughout the continuum of care. Ensures the patient plan of care is accurate and timely, coaching staff if documentation deficiencies are identified. Proactively recognizes, determines a plan of action, and responds to situations, such as Rapid Response/CERTs, and emergency codes.

Participates in initiatives to improve quality and safety scores on the unit and hospital scorecards, through peer-to-peer accountability, reporting near misses and identifying solutions by collaborating with the interprofessional team. FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Implements department strategies to achieve financial target on unit-based scorecard and mentors others to do the same through timely documentation of care, decreasing length of stay, optimizing efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime, and other areas according to departmental specifications.

Attends daily care coordination rounds to facilitate patient progression. Provides input into unit resource utilization including unit capital and operational budget needs. Oversees shift by shift resource utilization through the allocation of staff, supplies and contributions to the patient throughput.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Fosters identification and implementation of innovative solutions for practice changes to improve patient care or unit operations such as reduction of hospital readmissions or other department-specific measures by leading and/or participating in unit projects and shared governance activities. Expands individual nursing knowledge and coaches staff to grow in knowledge, abilities, skills, and attitudes. Serves as clinical resource. Develops and disseminates, as appropriate, informational/educational resources and programs designed to improve quality and professional practice.

ON-CALL Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. TRAVEL **Travel specifications may vary by department**

May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes

May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

Work Shift 1 - Day (United States of America)