RN, Advanced Care-EMERGENCY SERVICES-Days-Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital-Lakeland, FL

Orlando Health•Lakeland, FL

About The Position

The RN, Advanced Care administers patient care in a hospital or inpatient setting for patients with advanced illnesses or injuries requiring timely, intense, and complex care to stabilize and support their medical condition. These areas have lower caregiver-to-patient ratios and require highly trained team members with advanced skills. The position is full-time on the day shift, 36 hours per week, in Emergency Services at Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital in Lakeland, Florida. Previous ED experience is required. The role requires advanced nursing knowledge, clinical judgment, assessment, and vigilance to provide complex care and respond to rapidly changing patient conditions. The nurse develops and updates individualized plans of care, delivers evidence-based interventions, monitors specialized equipment, documents care, coordinates and delegates patient care, and collaborates with patients, families, physicians, and interdisciplinary teams. The nurse may also serve as a preceptor, charge nurse, unit educator, or nurse clinician. For nurses specially trained as ECMO specialists, additional responsibilities include providing and maintaining extracorporeal life support (ECLS), operating and monitoring ECMO equipment and circuits, administering ordered blood products and medications through the circuit, managing ECLS during transport, and maintaining continuous ECLS coverage. These specialists work in collaboration with unit leadership, intensivists, perfusion services, bedside staff, and other healthcare professionals, and attend mandatory quarterly simulations. Orlando Health describes its system as including hospitals, emergency rooms, specialty institutes, urgent care centers, primary care practices, and outpatient facilities. The new Lakeland Highlands Hospital is described as a seven-story, 550,000-square-foot, multispecialty facility with more than 300 inpatient beds, 69 emergency and observation beds, 11 operating rooms, four cardiac interventional suites, and services including cardiovascular, neurology, oncology, advanced surgery, and labor and delivery. The hospital opening team is being assembled to expand access to specialty care in Polk County and beyond.

Requirements

Graduate of an approved school of nursing.
At least one year of experience is required unless an exception is approved at the AVP level or above.
Previous emergency department experience is required.
Maintain a current State of Florida RN license or valid eNLC multistate RN license.
Maintain current BLS/Healthcare Provider certification.
Meet Orlando Health and unit/department mandatory, developmental, and performance competency requirements.
ACLS, NRP, PALS, and TNCC are required for certain areas; NRP is required for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Demonstrate advanced knowledge, skills, and judgment for complex patient assessment and care.
Demonstrate competency in nursing skills and use of patient-care and unit equipment as defined by unit/department requirements.

Responsibilities

Provide complex nursing care requiring advanced assessment, therapies, high-intensity interventions, and continuous vigilance.
Use patient information and assessment data to anticipate and respond to changing conditions.
Prioritize information and take timely, decisive, evidence-based, patient-focused action.
Monitor and adjust specialized patient-care equipment and interpret and document electronic displays, including cardiac rhythms and pressure readings.
Respond to life-threatening situations according to nursing standards and protocols.
Observe and assess patients, recognize serious situations, and contact a physician or take planned emergency measures when a physician is unavailable.
Assess patient needs; develop and revise individualized plans of care; and evaluate progress toward expected outcomes.
Build respectful relationships with team members and customers, respect diversity, and advocate for patients and families.
Provide age-appropriate care and apply knowledge of growth and development across the lifespan.
Serve as a preceptor, charge nurse, unit educator, and/or nurse clinician as applicable.
Communicate and collaborate with medical staff and interdisciplinary teams to plan and manage unit or department care.
Model professional practice and support hospital and nursing department goals and strategies.
Coordinate care for assigned patients and delegate appropriately according to patient needs and team members’ capabilities and qualifications.
Document assessments, education, medication administration, treatments, and safety measures in accordance with regulatory and organizational standards.
Maintain competency in nursing skills and unit-specific equipment; prioritize care according to evidence-based standards; and identify and resolve problems effectively.
Communicate relevant patient-condition and unit information to healthcare team members.
Provide a compassionate and therapeutic environment for patients and families, and demonstrate awareness of legal issues and patients’ rights.
Collaborate with education and nursing leadership teams to support new team members and students.
Maintain punctual attendance and comply with Orlando Health policies and procedures.
For trained ECMO specialists, provide scheduled, unscheduled, and emergency ECLS services in the hospital setting and ensure continuous ECLS coverage.
Operate ECMO equipment under the direction of physician and perfusion providers; monitor and optimize the ECMO circuit and related equipment; and manage equipment connected in-line with the circuit.
Administer ordered blood products and medications through the ECMO circuit.
Manage ECLS during transport and anticipate, troubleshoot, and manage ECMO-related crises and emergencies according to policy and procedure.
Attend mandatory quarterly simulations.
Contribute to colleagues’ knowledge and skills and to continuous improvement in healthcare quality and organizational outcomes.
Participate in and potentially lead nursing practice and performance-improvement committees, and participate in peer review, mentoring, and coaching.
Use supplies efficiently and maintain a clean, safe, and organized work area.
Attend staff development in-services, department meetings, and/or nursing committee meetings; partner with nursing leadership to identify development needs; and maintain professional development and continuing education.
Maintain ECMO/perfusion equipment and supplies, providing relevant information to the supervisor or director in coordination with biomedical services or vendors.
Provide critical nursing resource support to the CVICU or other areas as directed by leadership when not providing ECLS services.
Perform other duties as assigned.