Professional Staff Nurse - 3 South

UPMC • Erie, PA

3d • $37

About The Position

The Professional Staff Nurse is a Registered Nurse and an essential member of the care delivery team, responsible for setting the standard for the level and quality of patient care through professional nursing knowledge, independent judgment, and evidence-based practice. The nurse provides and coordinates care for patients and their families in collaboration with physicians, advanced practice providers, and interdisciplinary team members to achieve optimal outcomes. The role encompasses leadership, partnership, collaboration, patient advocacy, and clinical excellence across the continuum of care, with a commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care and UPMC’s mission of Life Changing Medicine.

The position is on 3 South, a 23-bed adult medical-surgical observation unit providing short-term monitoring, assessment, and treatment for patients needing additional care after unsuccessful outpatient management, incomplete resolution in the Emergency Department, or post-procedure recovery. The team focuses on stabilization, ongoing assessment, and collaboration to determine whether patients can safely go home or need admission for continued treatment. Nurses care for a diverse patient population in a fast-paced environment and develop assessment, critical-thinking, and care-coordination skills.

This is a limited part-time position with rotating day and night shifts and weekend requirements. Title and salary are determined based on education and nursing experience. The minimum starting rate for a non-BSN Professional Staff Nurse is $36.50 per hour. The role requires the ability to provide age-appropriate care and understand growth and development across the lifespan. UPMC describes a nursing career ladder with advancement opportunities and reviews the applicable career path and Total Rewards package during the offer process.

Requirements

• Current Registered Professional Nurse licensure in the facility’s state or a qualifying multistate license under a licensure compact agreement; a Temporary Practice Permit may apply to graduate nurses.
• Zero to two years of experience.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive, caring relationships with executives, managers, physicians, non-physician providers, ancillary and support staff, other departments, and patients and families.
• Ability to work effectively in a complex environment, manage multiple and changing priorities, and work with specialized equipment.
• Good clinical judgment and critical-thinking, analytical, and problem-solving abilities related to patient care.
• Critical-thinking skills necessary to apply and lead others in applying the nursing process.
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge and skills for age-appropriate care, understand lifespan growth and development, assess patient-status data, and identify age-specific care requirements.
• Mobility and visual-manual dexterity.
• Physical stamina for frequent walking, standing, lifting, and positioning of patients.
• CPR meeting AHA standards, including didactic and skills demonstration components, is required within 30 days of hire.
• Graduate nurses must complete the licensure examination within six months of hire or within one year of graduation, whichever comes first; UPMC states that graduate nurses who do not take the examination within six months of their start date may be terminated or demoted from the graduate nurse position.
• ACLS within one year of hire or transfer.
• NIH Stroke Scale within six months of hire or transfer.
• Act 34 clearance.
• Employees in certain night- or weekend-focused programs must have at least six months of nursing experience to qualify and may need to complete orientation during regular business hours.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred.
• UPMC-approved national certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with patients, families, colleagues, and internal and external partners; demonstrate accountability, motivation, and commitment.
• Promote healthy relationships, recognize cultural differences, balance work and personal life, and communicate workplace safety hazards.
• Apply adult-learning principles when teaching patients, families, students, and new staff; provide appropriate education for the care episode and transitions to another level of care or home.
• Support the development of students, new staff, and colleagues, and serve as a preceptor when appropriate.
• Seek feedback and contribute to an environment of open dialogue, inquiry, and continuous development.
• Apply the nursing process within Relationship Based Care to create a healing environment and develop daily patient goals and plans of care that involve patients and address their holistic needs.
• Use critical thinking to identify clinical, social, safety, psychological, and spiritual issues relevant to patient care.
• Communicate patient conditions to other care providers, make recommendations about changes in patient care and unit practices, and maintain comprehensive documentation that supports communication among caregivers.
• Provide a caring, compassionate, patient-focused experience by building healing relationships with patients, families, and colleagues.
• Pursue professional development that improves nursing practice and patient care quality.
• Participate in unit-based shared governance, goal setting, change initiatives, and efforts to improve the quality of care and the practice environment.
• Partner with the care team and respond to team members’ needs for assistance and collaboration.
• Participate in department- or unit-specific quality-improvement efforts and identify opportunities for improvement to colleagues and management.
• Take responsibility for improving patient satisfaction with the quality of care and service.
• Use research and evidence-based practice to improve clinical care, identify relevant research or articles, discuss improvement opportunities at multidisciplinary rounds, and influence patient care plans.

Benefits

• Sign-on bonuses of up to $10,000 for experienced nurses, based on role and experience.
• Tuition reimbursement of up to $3,000 annually for employees and eligible dependents attending accredited institutions.
• No-cost RN-to-BSN and MSN options for eligible UPMC employees.
• Premium pay differential for certain night-shift or weekend-shift programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed