RN II / III Rheumatology Outpatient

Cincinnati Children's

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Pediatric Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Coordinator serves as a key member of the multidisciplinary pediatric rheumatology team, supporting children and adolescents diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM), and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This role partners with physicians, advanced practice providers, infusion services, pharmacy, social work, rehabilitation services, and ancillary departments to improve care coordination, facilitate timely access to care, support disease monitoring, and enhance patient and family outcomes. The position is allocated at 0.6 FTE, with 75% dedicated to Care Coordination & Population Management, 15% to Patient/Family Education, and 10% to Quality Improvement & Registry Support.

Requirements

BSN prepared RNs from ACEN, CCNE or NLN CNEA accredited institution
Minimum three years of pediatric nursing experience.
Excellent communication and care coordination skills.
Experience working with patients with chronic or complex medical conditions.

Nice To Haves

Pediatric rheumatology experience.
Care coordination experience.
Experience with quality improvement initiatives.
Experience with patient registries and population health management.
CPN certification.

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary nursing resource for patients with complex rheumatologic diseases.
Coordinate outpatient care, infusion services, laboratory monitoring, imaging studies, and specialty referrals.
Support transitions between inpatient and outpatient settings.
Assist with urgent clinical needs, follow-up recommendations, and care planning.
Facilitate timely access to specialty services and multidisciplinary care.
Participate in pre-visit planning for complex patients.
Coordinate monitoring processes for patients requiring JIA (Disease activity assessments, Biologic and DMARD monitoring, Uveitis screening compliance, Laboratory surveillance), JDM (Muscle enzyme monitoring, MRI and imaging follow-up, Physical and occupational therapy coordination, Disease activity tracking), and Lupus/SLE (Laboratory surveillance, Renal monitoring, Medication adherence monitoring, High-risk patient outreach).
Support prior authorization processes.
Coordinate biologic and specialty medication monitoring.
Provide medication and injection education.
Assist with adherence monitoring.
Review immunization recommendations in collaboration with providers and pharmacy.
Coordinate infusion scheduling and follow-up.
Provide disease-specific education and reinforcement.
Educate families regarding medications, laboratory monitoring, and treatment plans.
Collaborate with schools and community agencies as appropriate.
Identify and address barriers to care.
Connect families with available community and institutional resources.
Assist with maintenance of patient registries including JIA, JDM, SLE/Lupus, and additional high-risk rheumatology populations.
Track selected quality indicators, including disease activity documentation, uveitis screening completion, laboratory monitoring compliance, missed appointments, and high-risk patient outreach.
Participate in rheumatology quality improvement initiatives.
Contribute to PDSA cycles and workflow improvement efforts.
Assist with data collection and reporting.
Support participation in collaborative networks, including PR-COIN and CARRA quality initiatives.
Promote adherence to clinical pathways and evidence-based care standards.
Sustain a working understanding of regulatory requirements and accreditation standards.
Support leadership in Compliance efforts to meet and sustain the regulatory compliance efforts of the department and hospital.
Be mindful and judicious in monitoring safety and departmental policies and procedures.
Ensure all individual certifications and Safety College requirements are fulfilled in a timely basis.
Work with department managers, nurse council and magnet representatives to identify and share safety best practices.
Be mindful of CCHMCs processes and compliance with CMS standards and freely communicate safety and compliance concerns to leadership team members.
Demonstrates consistent integration of the Interprofessional Practice Model (IPM) in all aspects of practice.
Follows standards and guidelines; implements clinical changes and research-based practices developed by others; recognizes the need for further learning to improve patient care; recognizes routine or obvious changing patient situation (e.g., deterioration, crisis); in unusual care situations, seeks help when needed to identify patient problem.
Uses self-appraisal performance review and peer review, including annual goal setting, for assurance of competence and professional development to promote safe and ethical practice using the nursing process.
Demonstrates openness to coaching and mentoring from others.
Facilitates learning by assisting with peer and student learning experiences.
Works with department managers, nurse council and magnet representatives to identify, share, implement and evaluate safety best practices.
Sees the pieces or components; sees patient and family within the isolated environment of the unit; sees self as key resource to support the family through the healthcare experience through care coordination.
Sustains a working understanding of regulatory requirements and accreditation standards.
Supports leadership in efforts to meet and sustain the regulatory compliance efforts of the department and hospital.
Monitors and complies with safety and departmental policies and procedures.
Ensures individual certifications and Safety College requirements are fulfilled in a timely basis.
Is mindful of CCHMCs processes and compliance with CMS standards and freely communicates safety and compliance concerns to leadership team members.
Consistently integrates age specific and culturally inclusive concepts into patient care, taking into consideration both the patient's chronological age and developmental functioning.
Is receptive to the contributions of the interdisciplinary team in team meetings and discussion regarding patient issues.
Participates in shared governance at the point-of-care as a member of unit-based councils or by demonstrating awareness and contributing to shared decision making (reading minutes, giving feedback and implementing council decisions).
Collects clinical data; follow algorithms, decision trees, and protocols.
Matches formal knowledge with clinical events to make appropriate decisions; uses available resources as needed.
Documents plan of care, care delivered, and patient and family outcomes.
Focuses on the usual and customary needs of the patient and family; anticipates future needs; bases care on standards and protocols; maintains a safe physical environment; acknowledges death as a potential outcome.
Consistently integrates age specific concepts into patient care, taking into consideration both the patient's chronological age and developmental functioning.
Using self-management support, develops care goals and actions through partnerships with patients and families.
Facilitates patient and family learning by providing structured education based on the plan of care goals, and the needs of the patient and family; uses teach back to evaluate effectiveness.
Works on behalf of patient and family; assesses personal values; aware of ethical conflicts/issues that may surface in clinical setting; makes ethical/moral decisions based on rules; represents patient when patient cannot represent self; aware of patients' rights.
Assesses cultural inclusion.
Recognizes the potential impact of culture on the patient/family experience and incorporates culturally inclusive concepts into patient care.