Charge Nurse (RN) - PCU

Conifer Health Solutions•Tucson, AZ

About The Position

The Charge Nurse is a registered nurse who assists the nurse manager or director with coordinating, directing, managing throughput, and evaluating patient care, unit activities, and staff activities and performance during an assigned shift. The role applies nursing-process knowledge and professional nursing standards, along with knowledge of patient requirements, growth, and development, to make assignments and interventions and provide consistent care as patient needs change. In the absence of the unit manager or director, the Charge Nurse manages clinical and non-clinical unit activities and coordinates operations. The Charge Nurse supports and supervises patient care and unit needs, serves as a resource and role model, and contributes to quality improvement, patient safety, staff development, and service recovery. When not serving as the clinical lead or charge nurse, the role may include a patient care assignment, precepting, or other duties based on unit needs.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited School of Nursing.
At least one year of clinical experience functioning in an RN role.
Valid, current Arizona Nursing License.
Obtain the credential required for the clinical specialty within three years from ANCC or another approved credentialing entity; the posting gives CCRN for critical care as an example.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association.
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification from the American Heart Association.
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) certification.
NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and other requirements as applicable to the individual department.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Responsibilities

Support, evaluate, prioritize, and supervise patient care and unit needs during the assigned shift.
Serve as the designee for unit matters when the nurse manager or director is absent.
Make staff and patient assignments, including assignments for incoming patients, and delegate unit-specific tasks to meet patient care and unit needs.
Monitor the effectiveness and completion of unit assignments.
Evaluate staffing based on caregiver mix, current and anticipated patient volumes, patient acuity, and staff availability.
Communicate effectively and promptly with team members and others on the assigned and oncoming shifts.
Proactively seek to improve service quality and patient care outcomes.
Serve as a unit champion and staff resource for quality and patient safety initiatives and issues.
Use change-management methods to support improvement activities.
Model exceptional customer service and facilitate and participate in service recovery efforts during the shift.
Support staff members’ personal and professional development through preceptor training, role modeling, and professional, technical, clinical, and coaching support.
Assist and participate with the nurse manager or director in quality projects and annual staff performance evaluations.
Troubleshoot issues requiring immediate resolution and keep the nurse manager or director informed of circumstances, actions, and outcomes.
When not serving as clinical lead or charge nurse, take a patient care assignment, serve as a preceptor, or perform other roles needed to meet unit patient care needs.
Represent the unit or nursing department on committees or task forces when assigned by the nurse manager, director, or administration.
Reinforce Carondelet Health Network’s vision, mission, and values through role-model behavior.