Orthopedic Nurse Navigator
FutureSoft Consulting Inc•Salinas, CA
•Onsite
About The Position
We are seeking an experienced Orthopedic Nurse Navigator for a 13-week travel contract assignment in Salinas, California. This role is ideal for a Registered Nurse with recent orthopedic experience and a strong background in care coordination, patient education, program development, and multidisciplinary collaboration. The Orthopedic Nurse Navigator will help guide patients through the orthopedic care process, from initial evaluation and treatment planning through surgery, recovery, rehabilitation, and follow-up. The successful candidate should be highly organized, clinically knowledgeable, and comfortable working with orthopedic surgeons, nursing teams, rehabilitation professionals, case management, patients, and families.
Requirements
- Active Registered Nurse license in the State of California
- Recent clinical experience in orthopedics
- Minimum 4 years of clinical nursing experience
- Current BLS / Healthcare Provider certification, consistent with American Heart Association standards
- Strong knowledge of orthopedic patient-care pathways
- Experience coordinating care across multiple clinical disciplines
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Excellent organization, coordination, and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to work effectively with physicians, patients, families, clinical staff, and community resources
- Working knowledge of The Joint Commission (TJC) Disease-Specific Certification requirements
- Working knowledge of Healthcare regulatory requirements
- Working knowledge of Patient safety standards
- Working knowledge of Quality-improvement processes
- Working knowledge of Clinical documentation requirements
- Working knowledge of Performance monitoring
- Working knowledge of Evidence-based orthopedic care pathways
- Working knowledge of Program compliance and continuous improvement
- Comfortable with orthopedic nursing
- Comfortable with nurse navigation
- Comfortable with care coordination
- Comfortable with patient education
- Comfortable with surgical care pathways
- Comfortable with preoperative coordination
- Comfortable with postoperative follow-up
- Comfortable with rehabilitation coordination
- Comfortable with discharge planning
- Comfortable with interdisciplinary collaboration
- Comfortable with program development
- Comfortable with quality improvement
- Comfortable with regulatory compliance
- Comfortable with patient tracking and follow-up
- Comfortable with clinical documentation
- Comfortable with problem solving
- Comfortable with managing multiple priorities
Nice To Haves
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred
- Orthopedic Nurse Certification through the Orthopaedic Nurses Certification Board or another relevant orthopedic specialty credential
- Clinical Nurse Specialist certification
- Nurse Practitioner certification
- Previous experience as a Nurse Navigator or Care Coordinator
- Orthopedic surgery or joint replacement program experience
- Previous program development and implementation experience
- Experience working within an acute-care hospital
- Experience with total joint replacement programs
- Experience coordinating rehabilitation and post-acute care
- Experience with quality-improvement initiatives
- Familiarity with accreditation and disease-specific certification programs
- Candidates with an Associate Degree in Nursing may be considered based on experience, licensure, and overall qualifications
Responsibilities
- Serve as a primary clinical resource and point of contact for orthopedic patients.
- Coordinate care throughout the orthopedic treatment journey.
- Guide patients through preoperative preparation, hospitalization, surgery, recovery, rehabilitation, and follow-up care.
- Educate patients and families regarding treatment plans, procedures, recovery expectations, medications, and discharge instructions.
- Coordinate appointments, referrals, testing, consultations, and follow-up services.
- Identify potential barriers to care and help connect patients with appropriate clinical and support resources.
- Collaborate with orthopedic surgeons, physicians, nurses, rehabilitation teams, case managers, and other healthcare professionals.
- Support continuity of care across inpatient, outpatient, rehabilitation, and post-discharge settings.
- Assist with orthopedic program development, implementation, and ongoing improvement.
- Help maintain standardized orthopedic care pathways and evidence-based clinical processes.
- Participate in quality-improvement and performance-monitoring initiatives.
- Track patient progress, outcomes, and follow-up requirements.
- Support compliance with hospital policies and applicable regulatory standards.
- Maintain accurate and timely patient documentation.
- Participate in interdisciplinary meetings and care-planning discussions.
- Communicate patient needs and clinical concerns promptly to the appropriate members of the care team.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
Associate degree
