Registered Nurse - Cardiac Rehabilitation

Schuylkill•Hellertown, PA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Provides quality nursing care to patients through the application of the nursing process, adaptive exercise therapy, and disease-management tools using evidence-based practice and department policies and procedures. Work includes EKG/ECG monitoring, non-invasive blood-pressure monitoring, and clerical duties when appropriate. The nurse communicates effectively, helps maintain a safe work environment, maintains clinical and professional competency appropriate to the patient population, and focuses on outcomes and patient experience. The position supervises cardiac rehabilitation sessions, monitors EKGs, updates exercise prescriptions, and documents patient responses to exercise. It assesses patients’ learning needs, readiness, and barriers to learning, and incorporates primary and secondary diagnoses into education plans. The nurse documents assessments and reassessments in care plans, including interventions, outcomes, goals, and behavior changes, and communicates with physicians and the care team as appropriate. The nurse supports quality and safety, evidence-based practice, research and performance-improvement activities, and department and hospital goals. The role includes validated technical skills, teamwork, teaching and mentoring colleagues and interns, precepting when assigned, delegating appropriately, and providing input on team members’ performance appraisals when requested. The position is onsite at the Health Center at Hellertown, 708 Main St, with a day shift schedule of variable eight-hour days, three days per week.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
One year of ICU and/or Coronary Care Unit experience.
Strong knowledge of cardiac and pulmonary pathophysiology and ability to assess patients’ responses to exercise.
Knowledge and competence reflecting current nursing practice.
Ability to work interdependently.
Attainment and maintenance of unit-specific competencies.
Ability to use PC software programs.
Ability to multitask and work well under stress.
Critical-thinking and judgment skills, including evaluating patient responses to exercise during testing or intervention.
Strong patient-education teaching abilities for individual and group settings, as indicated.
Strong knowledge of cardiac risk factors and lifestyle modifications.
Strong clinical assessment skills and leadership in emergency situations.
Strong knowledge of interpreting arrhythmias.
American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification for Pennsylvania, required upon hire.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certification for Pennsylvania, required upon hire.
Registered Nurse license for Pennsylvania, required upon hire.
Certified Cardiac Rehab Professional credential (CCRP) and AACPRPCC for Pennsylvania, required within one year.
Ability to lift and carry 40–50 pounds; job examples include pushing or pulling patients on beds or stretchers and performing lateral transfers.
Ability to stand and walk frequently to continuously; patient-care roles may require kneeling, bending, squatting, and performing CPR.

Responsibilities

Supervise cardiac rehabilitation sessions, monitor EKGs, update exercise prescriptions, and document patient responses to exercise.
Assess learning needs, readiness to learn, and actual or potential barriers to learning; incorporate diagnoses into patient education plans.
Document assessments and reassessments in patient care plans, including interventions, outcomes, goal setting, and behavior changes.
Maintain ongoing communication with physicians and the care team as appropriate.
Follow established quality and safety policies and procedures and use evidence-based practice.
Participate in evidence-based practice, research, and performance-improvement projects as applicable.
Communicate effectively with patients, families, visitors, staff, and professional colleagues.
Work as a team member to support department and hospital goals and objectives.
Participate in organizational and unit-based patient-experience performance-improvement activities.
Perform validated technical skills based on clinical specialty and unit practice.
Teach and mentor new colleagues and department interns; provide additional precepting when assigned.
Delegate based on team members’ skills and expertise, patient acuity and needs, and team members’ availability.
Provide input, when requested, for performance appraisals of care-delivery team members.
Maintain a safe work environment and clinical and professional competency appropriate to the patient population.