Clinical Nurse Educator

DCH Health System•Tuscaloosa, AL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Clinical Nurse Educator assumes a leadership role in assessing, planning, developing, coordinating, delivering, and evaluating education for licensed and unlicensed nursing staff. The educator serves as the clinical expert for the area of responsibility and provides orientation, continuing education and in-services, competency management, and other assigned educational programs. The role also provides clinical education support to other departments and maintains the clinical expertise needed to carry a staff nurse assignment. The educator assesses staff learning needs and performance trends, designs and evaluates learning activities, maintains records and reports, supports new equipment education, and contributes to policies, procedures, guidelines, and staff competency development. The role requires current nursing professional development knowledge, instructor status for AHA courses, and compliance with applicable ABN guidelines and DCH policies and standards. This is an onsite position involving direct patient-care capability and regular interaction with nursing staff, patients, and other departments. Work may include exposure to body fluids, infection, laboratory chemicals, hazardous materials, and cleaning solutions, and requires use of common protective equipment. Physical demands include medium work, prolonged standing and walking, lifting, reaching, and the ability to run in an emergency.

Requirements

Current Alabama RN license.
BSN in Nursing required.
At least 3 years of RN experience in the department(s) served.
Ability to provide direct patient care on the nursing unit in the area of expertise by carrying out a typical staff nurse assignment.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Computer skills required.
Current American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider training required, along with additional minimum training required for the nursing area of expertise and assignment.
Ability to read, write legibly, speak, and comprehend English.
Ability to perform public speaking, delegate to team members and students, address conflict and stressful situations, communicate with different personalities, and work face to face and in groups.
Ability to perform structured and unstructured work and meet time pressures and timelines.
Ability to use electronic mail, telephone, and texting.
Ability to tolerate possible exposure to human body fluids, disease, infection, laboratory chemicals, hazardous materials, and cleaning solutions, and to wear common protective and safety equipment such as gloves, safety glasses, masks, and gowns.
Medium physical work: exert up to 50 pounds occasionally, up to 30 pounds frequently, and up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects.
Ability to tolerate prolonged standing and walking; reach reasonable distances in any direction; stand, walk, kneel, bend, sit, stoop, and lift; and run in an emergency.
Ability to move fingers in a coordinated manner and perceive temperature, texture, shape, and size with the fingertips.
Ability to perform the duties with or without reasonable accommodation.
Hearing and vision must be normal or corrected to within normal range.
Physical presence onsite is essential.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Teaching and leadership experience preferred.
Knowledge of software programs and educational technology such as Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, Excel, and others preferred.
Affiliation with professional organizations encouraged.

Responsibilities

Assess ongoing staff educational needs using staff, nursing leader, stakeholder, performance, safety, and trend data.
Plan, develop, coordinate, teach, and evaluate clinical education programs, including orientation, continuing education, in-services, and competency management.
Ensure orientation and ongoing training of new and current educators.
Serve as the clinical expert for the assigned area and maintain the expertise needed to carry a staff nurse assignment.
Serve as an educational resource to other departments and participate on teams as needed.
Use evidence-based teaching strategies, techniques, and technology to promote positive learning and practice environments.
Round on staff during their shifts to assess learning needs, address learning or performance issues, provide education, and participate in unit staff meetings as needed.
Assist with ongoing data collection related to staff educational needs.
Participate in the development, revision, and validation of staff competencies.
Design, implement, evaluate, and maintain records for general and unit-specific continuing education programs based on identified learning needs.
Develop and maintain electronic records and reports documenting educational activities, including program evaluations, and maintain accurate, organized records.
Participate in developing, educating staff about, and interpreting policies, procedures, and guidelines.
Integrate ethics, regulatory requirements, and best practices into educational activities as applicable.
Coordinate and assist with staff education related to new equipment.
Maintain knowledge and competency in nursing professional development practice and instructor status for AHA courses; maintain professional organization affiliation as encouraged.
Ensure CNE education is documented according to ABN guidelines.
Stay informed about industry standards applicable to the area of practice and achieve continuous, measurable improvement in areas of responsibility.
Provide Nurse Managers with updates regarding staff performance.
Escalate clinical and safety concerns appropriately and promptly.
Maintain technical skills to operate clinical equipment and serve as a resource for staff.
Maintain performance, patient and employee satisfaction, and financial standards outlined in the performance evaluation.
Perform compliance requirements and adhere to the Employee Handbook, DCH Behavioral Standards, and DCH Health System policies and procedures.
Perform essential job functions in a manner that supports the safety of patients, visitors, and employees; identify and reduce unsafe practices and respond to risks and hazards.
Use electronic mail, time and attendance software, learning management software, and the intranet.
Perform other duties as assigned.