RN - 19434064

Tacoma General Hospital•Tacoma, WA

10d

About The Position

This Float Pool Registered Nurse position provides nursing care within the nurse’s scope of practice across the Progressive Care Unit (PCU), Telemetry, MedSurg, and Emergency Room (ER) Holding. Travelers may also be assigned to a nearby location to care for patients within the same scope of practice; advance notification will be provided when a nearby-location float is needed. Most assignments are expected to be in ED Holding, with floating to inpatient PCU areas also expected. Patient populations and diagnoses include neurological, trauma, surgical, and medical conditions such as respiratory compromise, sepsis, renal failure, bleeding disorders, congestive heart failure, COPD, pneumonia, orthopedic conditions, and stroke. Assignments may also include cardiac stepdown patients, 24-hour post-operative care following CABG or TAVR, STEMIs, femoral-popliteal surgeries, pacemaker procedures, and cardiac observations. Stated patient ratios are 1:4 in PCU and 1:5–6 in MedSurg. Department support includes CNA assistance, a charge nurse without patient assignments, 24/7 hospitalist coverage, 24/7 respiratory therapist availability, and cardiac and specialty physicians on call 24/7. The electronic medical record is EPIC; IV pumps are Alaris and medication dispensing is through Pyxis. Orientation consists of one day of general hospital orientation and one 12-hour day of unit-specific orientation focused on PCU. The traveler must complete Telemetry competency assessments. Weekend rotation is typically every other weekend, with back-to-back weekends possible but rare. There are no on-call responsibilities. Up to five days of requested time off are permitted. Shifts are 0700–1930 or 1900–0730. Schedules are issued in three-week cycles 7–10 days in advance; self-scheduling and a guaranteed patterned schedule are not available. Any solid, professional scrub color is acceptable, and parking is free in a parking garage. Daily tasks include completing whiteboards, hourly rounding, and bedside reports. Saline flushes are considered medication and must not be left unattended or stored in scrub pockets.

Requirements

Minimum of 1 year of nursing experience.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification.
National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) certification.
Skills in IV medication titration, cardiac rhythm interpretation, BiPAP management, ostomy care, and management of general drains, tracheostomies, chest tubes, and lumbar drains.

Nice To Haves

First-time travelers are welcome if they have strong PCU/Telemetry experience and previous float pool experience.
Experience with TR Bands.

Responsibilities

Provide nursing care within scope of practice across PCU, Telemetry, MedSurg, and ER Holding units.
Float to a nearby location when needed to care for patients within the same scope of practice; advance notification is provided.
Care for patients with a range of medical, surgical, neurological, trauma, and cardiac diagnoses and procedures.
Complete whiteboards, conduct hourly rounding, and give bedside reports.
Complete Telemetry competency assessments.
Follow medication-handling instructions, including not leaving saline flushes unattended or storing them in scrub pockets.