CHARGE NURSE (INTENSIVE CARE UNIT)

Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board, Inc.•Fort Defiance Agency, AZ

3d•$58 - $99•Onsite

About The Position

This position oversees the operation of the department/unit during their specified shift, demonstrating leadership through critical thinking, clinical practice, and teaching. The Charge Nurse forecasts, identifies, resolves, and prevents problems within the unit, recommending revisions to policies and procedures as necessary. They recognize and select appropriate leadership styles for given situations and report problematic incidents, accidents, or injuries to the Nurse Executive (NE) or Assistant Nurse Executive (ANE). This role ensures that department nursing staff understand and follow standard operating policies/procedures, are familiar with instruments and equipment, and adhere to bedside reporting. The Charge Nurse monitors the quality of patient care, coordinates and monitors staff activities, and distributes work effectively to maximize the use of available resources. They assist in data collection for quality improvement measures, consider the experience and abilities of staff, and know the responsibilities of all nursing staff members when preparing assignments. The role involves checking the environment for patient safety, implementing corrective measures for patient care inadequacies, observing staff performance, and assessing staff performance levels, potentially contributing to evaluations and advising/educating fellow staff. They utilize the talents of all nursing staff, educate staff and students through various formal and informal venues, and provide orientation, guidance, direction, and training to new staff. Collaboration with nursing staff, physicians, and other departments is essential, as is the ongoing coordination of work and resources to meet changing requirements. The Charge Nurse identifies patient care management priorities, applies decision-making theory and the scientific method to solve patient care problems, and utilizes communication theories in negotiations. They ensure staff follow infection control procedures, report issues, and ensure proper facility reporting for quality or safety issues. This role initiates and completes required administrative forms, routinely checks patient care plans for completeness and accuracy, and updates them as patient conditions change. They contrast and evaluate patient behavior/condition with care plan goals, assist in establishing patient care criteria for quality improvement, interpret the organizational chart, and use the institution’s organizational structure effectively. Auditing patient medical records for completeness and accuracy, checking equipment functionality, and completing all yearly CMS required training are also key responsibilities. Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Two (2) years of direct work experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Associate of Science degree in Nursing from an accredited nursing program.
Valid and unrestricted Registered Nurse license in any U.S. State or Territory.
Valid American Heart Association (AHA) certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) and maintain certification.
Obtain valid American Heart Association (AHA) certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) within six (6) months from date of hire and maintain certification.
Applicant must have a valid, unrestricted insurable driver’s license.
Resume and references are required.

Responsibilities

Oversees the operation of the department/unit during their specified shift.
Demonstrates leadership thorough critical thinking clinical practice and teaching.
Forecast, identifies, resolves and prevents problems in the unit and recommends revisions to the policies and procedures as necessary.
Recognizes leadership styles and selects the appropriate leadership style for given situation.
Reports problematic incidents, accidents, or injuries the Nurse Executive (NE) or the Assistant Nurse Executive (ANE) so that proper action can be taken.
Ensures that department nursing staff understand and follow the department standard operating policy/procedures and are familiar with the use and function of instruments and equipment.
Coordinates and monitors the activities of all staff in the delivery of patient care.
Ensures that staff is adhering to bedside reporting.
Monitors the quality of patient care being delivered by other nursing staff members.
Distributes the work of the unit in a manner that makes the best use of available resources, both personal and material.
Assists in the collection of data for quality improvement measures.
Takes into consideration the experience, knowledge, skill, and abilities of those persons who will be integral to the patient care process.
Knows the responsibilities of all nursing staff members and utilizes this knowledge when preparing assignments for staff members.
Checks the environment for patient safety.
Implements measures to correct inadequacies noted in the quality of patient care administered on the unit.
Observes the performance and activities of the department nursing staff and shares information with the NE and/or ANE.
Asses the level of performance of all staff in the unit and may be asked to contribute observations to individual employee evaluations, suggest competency evaluations, or to advise and educate fellow staff.
Utilizes the talents of all members of the nursing staff.
Educates nursing staff and students utilizing formal and informal venues, including peer consultation, mentorship, preceptor programs, unit conferences, case studies, patient rounds, and in-service programs.
Provides orientation, guidance and direction, and training to new staff and participate in ongoing clinical teaching.
Collaborates with nursing staff, physicians, and other departments.
Provides ongoing coordination of work and resources as necessary to meet changing requirements in the work environment.
Identifies the priorities for patient care management.
Applies decision-making theory and the scientific method to solve patient care problems.
Applies communication theories and techniques in negotiating with patients, families, and other staff members to accomplish the nursing care plan.
Ensures the staff follows correct infection control procedures at all times and report any issues.
Ensures proper facility reporting for quality or safety issues.
Initiates and completes the designated from required by administration in the delivery of patient care.
Checks the completeness and accuracy of patient care plans routinely, and continually updates and revises these plans as changes occur in the patient’s condition.
Contrasts and evaluates the patient’s behavior and/or condition with the physical, psychosocial and spiritual goals state in the nursing care plan.
Assists with the establishment of criteria for patient care to be utilized in a total quality improvement program.
Interprets organizational chart, and uses the institution’s organizational structure effectively.
Audits the patient’s medical record to determine that all orders have been carried out, that laboratory tests are posted, delivered nursing care is documented, and patient progress or lack of progress is described.
Checks equipment to determine if it is functioning properly.
Completes all yearly Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required training by the indicated due dates.
Assists, promotes, and supports compliance with established CMS standards.
Performs other duties as assigned.