Registered Nurse (RN) FT Day PICU

Wellstar Health System•Marietta, GA

About The Position

The RN Clinical Nurse is a proactive member of an interdisciplinary team responsible for providing individualized, high-quality, safe patient care to patients and their families. The nurse practices in a clinical environment supported by Wellstar’s Shared Governance Model, Professional Practice Model, evidence-based practice, and research, and follows the Georgia Professional Nurse Practice Act and American Nurses Association standards. The role upholds patient advocacy, system policies and procedures, and service excellence goals. In the PICU, the nurse manages complex, high-acuity and critically ill pediatric patients, performing at least hourly assessments and monitoring. The role includes developmentally and culturally appropriate care; management of ventilators and other respiratory support; cardiac rhythm analysis; continuous vital-sign monitoring; titration of vasoactive, sedation, and insulin infusions; bedside point-of-care testing; assistance with bedside procedures; support for pediatric codes using PALS; and sterile dressing changes. The nurse coordinates care, documents care, collaborates with patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams, and contributes to professional development, performance improvement, research utilization, and shared governance.

Requirements

Minimum five years of direct patient-care nursing experience.
Associate degree in nursing or nursing diploma required; bachelor's degree in nursing preferred.
Current RN license: single-state or multistate compact.
BLS certification required upon hire; accepted credentials include BLS, ARC-BLS, or BLS-I.
PALS certification required, with PALS-P provisional certification allowed within 180 days; accepted credentials include PALS, ARC-PALS, PALS-I, or PALS-P.
Ability to read, write, and speak English.
Ability to use technology to support clinical care and basic computer skills.
Strong interpersonal, collaboration, and customer-service skills.
Ability to function in a fast-paced environment and respond to emergencies in a decisive, composed, and respectful manner.
Excellent time-management skills.
Evidence-based nursing practice, analytical ability, and strong critical-thinking skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in nursing.

Responsibilities

Perform the nursing process, including assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation, using evidence-based practice and critical thinking.
Coordinate individualized care through effective partnerships and provide relationship-based, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate patient care.
Partner with patients and significant others, keep them informed, and make patient goals the focus of the plan of care.
Manage care for complex, high-acuity and critical pediatric patients, including at least hourly assessments and monitoring.
Manage ventilators, BiPAP, CPAP, and oscillators.
Assess and analyze cardiac rhythms and monitor and trend vital signs, including respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and arterial-line waveforms.
Titrate vasoactive, sedation, and insulin infusions appropriately.
Perform and analyze bedside point-of-care testing, including iSTAT and ABG/VBG testing.
Assist with bedside procedures, including sedated lumbar punctures, arterial-line placement, CVL/PICC placement, intubation, and chest-tube placement.
Support and/or lead pediatric codes using the PALS algorithm.
Perform sterile dressing changes.
Coordinate delivery and documentation of safe, quality patient care and contribute to respectful, inclusive interdisciplinary communication.
Participate in performance improvement, research utilization, shared governance, and activities that promote safe, quality care.
Complete initial and ongoing competency assessments and required mandatory and population-specific education.
Serve as a preceptor and/or mentor to nurses and other staff or students.
Promote evidence-based practice, nursing research, and performance improvement; participate in value analysis and data collection, and use appropriate evidence and resources to address practice questions.
Uphold organizational policies, procedures, clinical competencies, and legal, regulatory, accreditation, and patient-safety requirements.
Plan for patient care across the care continuum and participate in developing protocols and procedures when called upon or through self-initiation.
Use human and material resources efficiently and effectively.
Perform other duties as assigned and comply with Wellstar policies, standards of work, and code of conduct.