Registered Nurse- Acute Rehab

Kaweah Delta Health Care District•Visalia, CA

About The Position

The Registered Nurse in Acute Rehab protects and promotes health, prevents illness and injury, and alleviates suffering through nursing diagnosis and treatment. The nurse demonstrates leadership in the professional practice setting by overseeing the interdisciplinary healthcare team to provide holistic care and advocate for patients and families. The role applies the nursing process, collaborates with patients, families, and healthcare providers, and contributes to quality improvement and effective care coordination. The position may include team-leader duties, such as serving as a clinical resource and role model, supporting staff and new employees, coordinating staffing and patient flow, and helping manage high-risk or emergent situations. Additional duties apply only if assigned to the Infusion Center or Wound Center. The nurse must provide care appropriate to the population served and address patients’ and families’ cultural, linguistic, spiritual, gender, and age-specific needs.

Requirements

Current California RN license.
BLS certification.
Knowledge and skills necessary to provide care and services appropriate to the patient population served.
Ability to effectively communicate with and care for patients and families in accordance with the Plan for Provision of Care.

Nice To Haves

BSN, MSN, or current enrollment in an RN-BSN program.

Responsibilities

Practice according to the Code of Ethics and demonstrate professional, respectful, and nondiscriminatory conduct while protecting patient confidentiality, autonomy, dignity, and rights.
Identify high-risk patients and initiate appropriate ancillary interventions; advocate for patients and help them develop skills to advocate for themselves.
Use the nursing process, including assessment, diagnosis, planning, outcome identification, implementation, and evaluation.
Use quality-of-care and performance-improvement findings to identify opportunities for improvement and recommend changes to nursing practice or patient outcomes.
Collect clinical data, participate in quality-improvement studies and interdisciplinary evaluations, share findings, and implement improvement suggestions.
Collaborate and communicate with patients, families, and healthcare providers; formulate care plans with patient involvement, make referrals, and support continuity of care.
Monitor documentation and appropriate referrals, and use peer review and observation.
When assigned as team leader, serve as a clinical resource and role model; mentor and support staff, preceptors, and new employees; provide input on employee evaluations; and orient float staff.
When assigned as team leader, make and adjust staff assignments, coordinate admissions and transfers, ensure timely shift report and adequate break coverage, and communicate upcoming staffing needs.
When assigned as team leader, ensure assigned staff complete equipment checks, coordinate care in high-risk or emergency situations, and keep appropriate leaders informed of critical patients and unit issues.
When assigned as team leader, promote collaboration and communication among staff, physicians, providers, and departments; ensure patient-care issues are documented and reported; and use the appropriate chain of command.
When assigned as team leader, provide employee guidance, alert the Nurse Manager to counseling needs, provide patient care as needed, and make fiscally responsible staffing and supply decisions.
If assigned to the Infusion Center, assign patients to infusion chairs, initiate nursing intake, educate patients, establish peripheral IVs or access central venous devices, administer ordered treatments, monitor patients, reconcile medications, obtain histories, document care, and provide discharge instructions.
If assigned to the Infusion Center, maintain competency in IV therapy, infusion pumps, and emergency response; provide telephone triage and patient education about side effects, symptom management, and resources.
If assigned to the Wound Center, coordinate care with physicians and nursing and Wound Center staff, manage assigned patients’ care, educate patients and families, and serve as a nursing-practice resource.
If assigned to the Wound Center, support staff development, assist with policies and procedures, complete required continuing education and Healogics training and competency assessments, and follow applicable clinical protocols, documentation standards, workflows, and program requirements.
Perform other duties as assigned.