Overview
Our Emergency Departments offer comprehensive emergency medical services to all age groups and staffed 24/7 by a highly trained team to meet the needs of the community. Our ED team is composed of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and support staff. Our Regional Medical Center Emergency Department is a 54-bed state designated Level III Trauma Center as well as a Level II Stroke Center. The Regional Medical Center ED treats more than 60,000 patients per year. Our Nurse to Patient ratio ranges from 1:1 with our critical/trauma patients to 1:3-4 on all other patients.
Serves as onsite mentor and nursing knowledge and skills resource nurse for direct care staff and works as staff RN. In collaboration with ED educator assists with planning, developing and supervising clinical orientation of ED staff. Assists with other staff education on an as needed basis.
Responsibilities
Plans, coordinates and directs quality, compassionate care by maintaining standards of professional nursing practice and creating positive therapeutic relationships with patients/families. Provides leadership to other team members by articulating and delegating expected standards of care, supervising and encouraging team members, and supporting their contributions. Supervises ED Technicians, Escort/PCAs and Clerical Coordinator/PCAs.
Provides clinical expertise, support and feedback to facilitate the advancement of clinical skills of direct care staff. Plans and leads daily shift huddles with new staff to offer debriefing, group learning and staff recognition. Works alongside new team members and provides direct supervision and coaching in skill performance and patient care activities on a daily basis. Assists with planning clinical experiences for all new staff to the Emergency Department.In collaboration with ED educator and managers, assigns new staff to appropriate ED preceptors. Rotates assignments of orientees to assure adequate exposure and practice of various care activities. Evaluates and documents orientation skills and other competencies. Communicates routinely with department leaders, preceptors and educator to assess ongoing needs and troubleshoot issues.Provides orientation and validates skills of temporary staff (Clinical Resource Team, reassigned staff, Patient Attendants, agency staff), PCAs and MSTs.Assists with validation of annual staff competencies and other educational activities as needed.Routinely alters work hours to accommodate needs of orientees. Routinely works as staff nurse at a minimum of one 12-hour shift per month as directed by department leaderMaintains and enhances expertise as ED nurse though constant awareness of policies, procedures, protocols, maintaining competencies, and attending continuing education events.Assesses condition on each assigned patient on admission and on an ongoing basis to include but not limited to the patient’s physical condition, psychological status, social status, spiritual and cultural needs, pain assessment/management, nutritional and functional status, developmental or age related factors, and discharge planning needs. Plans, provides, and documents patient and/or significant other education based on physical,behavioral, psychological, developmental, and age-related factors, after identifying barriers to learning. Evaluates and regularly reevaluates patient care; coordinates care planning with patient, family, providers and other disciplines to achieve patient-centered outcomes.Assigns and delegates nursing care to team members in accordance with the patient’s needs and the capabilities of the team members.Applies safety principles when performing care and accurately documents observations, care provided and changes in care plan.Participates in rounds, care planning/problem identification and team shift reports.Assists in performance improvement (PI) activities by serving on PI teams as warranted, assisting with PI measures and supporting and implementing changes necessary for improvement.Performs initial and annual competency per job class.DCH Standards:
Qualifications
Licensure & Certification
Current Alabama Nursing License — Required
American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross Certifications:
Basic Life Support (BLS) — Required
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) — Required
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) — Required
Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) — Preferred
Professional Nursing Certification — Preferred
Emergency Nursing Certification (CEN) — Preferred
Education & Experience
BSN and minimum 2 years RN Emergency Department experienceORADN and minimum 3 years RN Emergency Department experience — Required
1 year experience as RN preceptor or in new employee orientation — Required
Teaching and leadership experience — Preferred
Skills & Abilities
Must be able to read, write legibly, speak, and comprehend English
Strong clinical, communication, and mentoring skills
WORK CONTEXT
PHYSICAL FACTORS