Charge Nurse

Central Health•Austin, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

In collaboration with patients, families (as defined by the patient) and staff across all disciplines and departments, the Charge Nurse is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the clinical support staff assigned to a unit in a community healthcare center. This role involves overseeing staff, participating in process improvement, providing coaching and mentorship, managing unit flow and patient scheduling, assessing patient needs, teaching and counseling patients and families, providing direct nursing care, and ensuring documentation is complete and accurate. The Charge Nurse also ensures daily huddles take place, disseminates information, maintains licensure requirements, participates in quality strategies, and ensures compliance with regulatory standards. They act as the site lead in the absence of the Nurse Manager Operations and/or Practice Leader, perform quality assurance checks, ensure vaccine policies are followed, attend clinic codes, perform patient triage, conduct chart audits, and de-escalate crisis situations.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited school of nursing.
Minimum of one year experience in the nursing field.
Demonstrate success in providing clinical care and nursing support within an organization of comparable pace and complexity.
Experience managing difficult patient/customer situations.
Demonstrate success in directing staff in order to achieve a common goal.
Significant knowledge of medical practices and procedures in a healthcare environment.
Demonstrate success and experience with direct patient services and the proper knowledge and use of medical devices and equipment.
Unrestricted Registered Nurse License in the State of Texas.
Current healthcare provider Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course completion card obtained through approved American Heart Association or American Red Cross.

Responsibilities

Oversee assigned staff, including establishing work assignments and priorities.
Review and adjust timecards, review time off requests, provide input for performance evaluations, and monitor orientation of new hires.
Coach and counsel staff in conjunction with NMO, PL, and HR.
Perform Nurse Manager-Operation (NMO) duties in the absence of the NMO.
Actively participate in Process Improvement strategies.
Provide coaching and mentorship to Charge Nurse I and clinical staff.
Support and guide Charge Nurses through administrative and organizational growth.
Oversee the flow of the unit and staffing within the unit.
Oversee patient scheduling as appropriate.
Assess the physical, social, and emotional needs of patients and families in clinics.
Teach and counsel patients and families concerning health assessment and care, including prevention of disease, disability, hygiene, and health maintenance.
Participate in the identification of patient needs for referral to resources that facilitate the continuity of care in conjunction with the care management team.
Provide direct nursing care to patients and distribute medications and treatments according to accepted standards of care.
Complete all direct and indirect care documentation in a timely manner and ensure patient records are current and complete.
Ensure daily patient care (unit) huddles are taking place along with weekly clinic staff informational huddles.
Disseminate information from charge nurse meetings, patient conferences, or planning sessions related to quality assurance, patient care, and other related topics within the clinic.
Maintain all licensure and/or certification requirements for continuing education and best practices.
Participate in quality strategies to evaluate compliance with evidence-based guidelines, standards, and to identify opportunities to improve patient outcomes.
Ensure all tasks provided comply with all regulatory and accreditation standards, including The Joint Commission and CommUnityCare Standard Operating Procedures and Policies.
Act as the site lead in the absence of the Nurse Manager Operations and/or Practice Leader.
Perform daily/weekly quality assurance checklist, including delegation of tasks as appropriate to staff (Rider report, class D, McKesson, CLIA, AED, equipment checks).
Ensure state vaccine (VFC/ASN) policies are being followed.
Delegate weekly vaccine counts as deemed necessary.
Attend all clinic codes.
Perform patient triage as needed.
Perform periodic chart audits.
De-escalate crisis situations by seeking guidance of supportive personnel.
Perform other duties as assigned.