ECMO Clinician RN or RT

Cincinnati Children's

1d•$44 - $56

About The Position

ECMO Specialist (RN or Respiratory Therapist) At Cincinnati Children’s, we come to work with one goal: to make children’s health better. As one of the nation’s top pediatric health systems, we care for the most complex and critically ill patients—and our ECMO program is at the forefront of life-saving innovation and outcomes. Position Overview The PRN ECMO Specialist (RN or Respiratory Therapist) provides expert bedside management of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for neonatal, pediatric, and cardiac patients. This role is a critical member of a highly specialized, multidisciplinary team responsible for the initiation, monitoring, and management of ECMO circuits in high-acuity environments including the CICU, PICU, and NICU. This is an as-needed (PRN) role supporting variable coverage needs, including on-call and emergent ECMO activations.

Requirements

Current Registered Nurse (RN) OR Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) license in the state of Ohio
Minimum of 2 years of critical care experience required (PICU, NICU, CICU, or adult ICU)
ECMO experience required
Current BLS and ACLS required; PALS required or obtained within designated timeframe
Strong critical thinking and ability to perform in high-stress, fast-paced environments
Excellent communication and teamwork skills
Bachelor’s degree in related field
Requires RN/RRT clinical license, certification and training OR advanced training in circulation technology from a CAAHEP accredited program AND Certification by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion OR eligible and actively pursuing with attainment in the first year of employment
2+ years of work experience in a related job
Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation discipline

Nice To Haves

Pediatric ECMO experience
Experience in a high-acuity academic medical center
Prior participation in ECMO transport or mobile ECMO programs
Advanced certifications (e.g., CCRN, C-NPT, or specialty RT credentials)

Responsibilities

Provide continuous monitoring and management of patients on ECMO support, ensuring optimal circuit function and patient safety
Assist with ECMO initiation, troubleshooting, and weaning in collaboration with perfusionists, intensivists, and surgeons
Respond to emergent ECMO activations and provide on-call support as needed
Monitor hemodynamics, gas exchange, and circuit integrity; promptly identify and escalate concerns
Maintain accurate and timely documentation in accordance with institutional standards
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality, family-centered care
Participate in ongoing education, simulation training, and competency validation
Support quality improvement and evidence-based practice initiatives within the ECMO program
Coordinates with Clinical Engineering department the preventative maintenance and routine equipment check of all ECMO related equipment.
Familiar with entire disposable inventory management process; includes inventory management, ordering, and receiving.
Development of processes for equipment maintenance.
Knowledge of how equipment functions, educate functions and create process.
Coordinate with outside vendors for maintenance and preventative maintenance.
Demonstrates strong critical thinking skills by making appropriate clinical decisions.
Rapidly prioritizes both planned and unplanned events and proactively addresses actual and potential problems.
Directing others to solve complex problems.
Collaborates with team members in shared decision-making.
Proactively seeks the contribution of the interdisciplinary team in team meetings and discussions regarding patient care and/or practice issues.
Coaches others to respect the contribution of the entire team.
Assists others to work collaboratively valuing the contributions of the various disciplines in patient/practice issues.
Is an active member on point-of-care or divisional councils, committees, task forces or projects by contributing to decision making.
Works to build consensus.
Explains complex and sensitive processes/information.
Designs and assembles ECMO circuits and prepares the circuit for patient use.
Operates, maintains, calibrates and performs quality control testing on all point of care laboratory equipment as per Cincinnati Children's Clinical Laboratory's protocols and CLIA requirements.
Provide support for other extracorporeal technologies within the scope of licensure and as needed such as VAD and CRRT.
Initiation with the provider/surgeon; implementation and management with surgeon/provider.
Providers place access for ECMO and the ECMO staff initiates and manages ECMO support, as well as additional extracorporeal therapies, as guided by clinical functions based on protocols.
Uses clinical inquiry and performance review to improve.
Questions appropriateness of policies and guidelines and procedures; questions current practice; seeks advice, resources, or information to improve processes; begins to compare and contrast possible alternatives.
Assists with development of competence in peers; formally, by precepting new ECMO specialists, and informally, by sharing knowledge at the point-of-care.
Uses self-appraisal performance review and peer review, including annual goal setting, for assurance of competence and professional development to promote safe and ethical practice.
Coaches and mentors' others.
Facilitates learning for members of the healthcare team.
Precepting and provides all of continuing education.
Development and Maintenance of competence in peers by precepting and facilitating ongoing education requirements.
Not just question but develop and implement.
Questions appropriateness.
Solves complex problems; takes a new perspective on existing solutions; exercises judgment based on the analysis of multiple sources of information.
Independence, Direction and Accountability.
Function as perfusionist in RN/RT scope.