CHARGE NURSE - Emergency - Per Diem - Variable Shift

Sierra View Medical•Porterville, CA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Charge Nurse, a Registered Nurse (RN), independently provides holistic, individualized care using the nursing process for patients routinely seen on the unit. This role demonstrates an advanced level of clinical competency, nursing judgment, teaching skills, and a commitment to improving the quality of patient care with a positive manner. The Charge Nurse is responsible for the coordination of quality patient care through the implementation of the nursing process on a shift basis. Specific areas of responsibility include serving as a resource person, role model, mentor, ensuring therapies and treatments are given as ordered, immediate oversight of staff assigned to that unit, assisting in staff development, and direct communication with the Clinical Managers and Department Director of the unit as well as Administration as appropriate. The position requires the ability to work scheduled and unscheduled hours, including holidays, call-backs, weeknights, weekends, and on-call. The Charge Nurse must also participate in emergencies and community disasters as required by the California Emergency Services Act and has an affirmative duty to report perceived misconduct. The employee must work well under pressure, meet deadlines, and demonstrate cooperative behavior.

Requirements

Minimum two (2) years of unit specific clinical experience and/or approval of the Unit Director.
Must have and maintain current licensure as a Registered Nurse in the state of California.
Must have and maintain current American Heart Association BLS, ACLS, and PALS cards or obtain prior to hands on patient care.
Must have or be eligible to enroll in MICN and obtain prior to being assigned as a Charge Nurse independently.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to write routine reports and correspondence if required.
Ability to calculate figures and medication dosages and solutions calculations.
Ability to use common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Knowledgeable in basic computer skills.
Positive demonstration of leadership skills.
Effective communication techniques.
Successful interpersonal relations.
Increased acceptance of responsibility.

Nice To Haves

A national certification will be identified and the time frame to complete the certification will be approved by the respective Leadership within 90 days of accepting the position.
Must have and maintain Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) certification or obtain within one (1) year of assignment to department.

Responsibilities

Makes patient care assignments utilizing Benner's Novice to Expert.
Coordinates with the Director or Clinical Manager/House Supervisor in times of high census as patients are triaged to a lower level of care to include discharge.
Coordinates patient admissions, transfers, and discharges with assistance as appropriate.
Coordinates staffing needs with the Clinical Manager and/or Staffing Coordinator/Nursing Supervisor.
Ensures accurate reporting of census and patient acuity for staffing purposes.
Coordinates breaks and lunches to provide a reasonable ratio of experienced and orienting personnel to provide ongoing patient care.
Ensures appropriate staff response to all "Code" situations.
Supports achievement of improvement and follows through on actions resulting from QA/QC findings.
Encourages participation from coworkers.
Facilitates and coordinates intra and inter departmental relationships or teamwork.
Maximizes and identifies resources for quality improvement opportunities on the unit.
Assists in the writing/revising of policies and procedures to keep unit current with regulatory requirements.
Flexes staff up/down based on scheduled caseload, maintains appropriate resource use by monitoring staff and patient changes.
Assists with addressing and diffusing patient complaints and patient conflict situations.
Maintains open, two-way verbal and written communication with staff, physicians, Director/Clinical Manager and all other hospital departments.
Attends daily bed meetings (0900 & 1600) to assist with patient admissions as appropriate for individual unit.
Mentors staff in problem analysis/resolution, encourages freedom of expression.
Is a mentor for staff and participates in leadership and management self-development.
Identifies and communicates clinical issues that require management intervention.
Demonstrates excellent skills in working with others and elicits their cooperation.
Demonstrates and maintains current knowledge and clinical skills in area of specialty and all required competencies.
Able to function in a trainer role for all staff.
Participates in committee and/or task forces to improve nursing practices and/or service.
Role models and encourages participative unit decision making.
Assumes responsibility for the coordination of activities in the unit on their assigned shifts.
Demonstrates competency to and successfully fulfills all duties and responsibilities of the Triage Nurse job description.
Facilitates patient flow based upon EMS information and triage criteria.
Ensures timely response to all radio calls, facilitates transfers while adhering to EMTALA regulations.
Responds or sends appropriate delegate to all "code blue" calls on the first flow and all "code white" calls throughout the facility.
Consistently involved in Professional Development Classes for further knowledge in Emergency Nursing such as: TNCCC, ENPC, NRP, National Conference related to Emergency Nursing, and CEN.