Nurse Educator / Infection Control

UHS•Phoenix, AZ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Quail Run Hospital is a 115-bed acute care psychiatric hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, serving adolescent, adult, and senior patients through inpatient acute care, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs. The Nurse Educator is a registered professional nurse who facilitates orientation for new staff, teaches and assesses competencies, and supports ongoing staff education. The role also evaluates patient care with health team members and addresses assessed needs through education programs when appropriate. The Infection Control Nurse coordinates the hospital’s Infection Control Program, including infection surveillance and reporting, staff education, and technical support. The role monitors infection-control practices, maintains related statistical data, investigates unusual clusters or outbreaks, and works with hospital departments and public health contacts. It also supports continuous quality improvement and helps ensure the program meets applicable regulatory requirements.

Requirements

Current license to practice nursing in Arizona or compact privileges; an out-of-state compact license holder must apply for an Arizona license within 60 days of hire.
At least one year of experience working in a psychiatric inpatient setting.
Handle With Care certification or qualification, required; training is provided at the facility.
Basic Life Support (BLS) for Providers, required; training is provided at the facility.
Level 1 Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card, or ability to obtain one within 30 days of hire.

Nice To Haves

Infection Control experience.

Responsibilities

Facilitate orientation for new staff, teach and assess competencies, and transition staff to mentors who oversee completion of orientation competencies.
Assist with developing and implementing training in areas requiring follow-up or refresher education, including annual competencies.
Evaluate patient care collaboratively with health team members and provide education programs when appropriate.
Oversee HealthStream education for Nursing Department staff and upload required monthly education.
Assist in implementing unit policies and procedures, provide in-the-moment education, and serve as a staff resource.
Evaluate treatment-planning effectiveness and offer education courses or in-the-moment education as needed.
Work with the CNO to provide education and training identified through root cause or intensive analyses.
Provide staff with patient-education materials and develop a comprehensive orientation for new hires.
Create and monitor nursing competencies to be completed within 30 days of hire and before staff function independently.
Develop a monthly staff education calendar addressing ongoing education and supervision needs, including Handle With Care, Verbal De-escalation, and Basic Life Support.
Plan and implement HealthStream education for all staff and develop core curriculum for population-based competencies suited to patient groups.
Assist with training in multicultural awareness.
Develop and maintain methods to identify and record known or suspected infections in patients and employees.
Conduct periodic inspections to ensure infection-control procedures are followed and collect and maintain infection-control statistical data.
Maintain liaison with public health services and local physicians to identify infections that become apparent after hospital discharge.
Prepare monthly reports for the Infection Control Committee, including infection rates by nursing unit and infection type; report and investigate unusual clusters or outbreaks as appropriate.
Monitor employee illnesses and report their number and type to the Infection Control Committee.
Identify needs for intervention in the care of patients and employees with infections, contact appropriate individuals, and provide education and consultation.
Assist in developing and delivering hospital infection-control education, including employee infection-control practices and employee health classes.
Consult with the Nursing Department on infection-control issues, patient care planning and evaluation, and home-care recommendations at discharge.
Assist hospital departments in developing and implementing infection-control policies and procedures.
Ensure the infection-control program meets TJC, CMS, and state and federal regulatory requirements.
Develop and implement a Performance Improvement Plan, evaluate results monthly, and report results to the Performance Improvement Committee in a timely manner.
Ensure deficiencies identified through performance-improvement analysis receive appropriate problem-solving actions and analyze program statistics to identify and respond to trends.