Nurse Navigator RN- Part Time- 24 hours per week- Variable days to include Monday-Friday, 8 hour shifts

Summary of Position:

The Nurse Navigator is a key member of the multidisciplinary team functioning as a facilitator of care across the spine and joint replacement episode. Responsible for ensuring all referred patients receive quality and comprehensive services throughout the continuum of care. The Nurse Navigator acts as a facilitator and resource for patients, nursing staff, physicians and their office staff, pre-operative surgical home personnel, and the Spine and Joint Replacement Team. The primary focus is the pre-operative coordination of care. This role ensures defined standards at every episode of care for planning, managing and communicating to assure the progression of safe and efficient care throughout the continuum in a collaborative approach.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Completion of an accredited Nursing program.
• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN) preferred.

Experience:

• Required minimum of 3 years nursing experience in an acute care setting.
• Knowledge of Joint Commission Accreditation Criteria for Spine and Total Joint Program
• Excellent communication skills

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to adjust communication style for the target audience.
• Emotional stability conducive to dealing with a high stress level as associated with dealing with fast paced physical activity, rapidly changing conditions, and demands of patients and staff.
• Must be skilled in word processing and be receptive to learning a new hospital-based computer system for billing and scheduling (if indicated).
• Utilizes sound management principles and delegates responsibilities effectively. Demonstrates good judgment in the ability to organize the workflow utilizing support personnel to maximize efficiency and to achieve optimal cost effectiveness.
• Supports administrative decisions in a mature, objective and open manner. Regularly thinks through a problem and confers with a physician when necessary.
• Demonstrates the ability to assess a situation from a variety of perspectives, considers various alternatives, and chooses the appropriate course of action.
• Knows and meets established health standards (e.g. OSHA, etc).
• Fosters enthusiasm by example and by expressing appreciation to staff members for a well-done job.
• Demonstrates evidence of essential leadership, communication, education, collaboration, and counseling skills
• Effective organizational, planning, negotiating, coaching, and conceptual thinking skills.

Certifications/Licensure:

• Current California RN license or ability to obtain prior to start date.
• Current CPR/BLS certification by the American Heart Association (BLS for the Healthcare Provider) or ability to obtain prior to start date.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, stand, sit, and talk or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Working Conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Normal office environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate while in the office.
• Hospital environment for multidisciplinary rounding, patient rounding, patient education, staff education.
• Occasional travel to various health system locations.

Essential Functions

1. Provide consistently exceptional care at all times.
2. Advocates for patients by serving as a liaison throughout the continuum of care to include, but not be limited to anticipating and addressing patients’ needs before, during, and after their hospitalization, in consultation with the medical team.
3. Collect, track, trend and analyze data to improve outcomes.
4. Collaborate with the perioperative surgical home team to lead transformative changes designed to optimize patient surgical outcomes.
5. Provide expertise as a professional registered nurse with spine & joint replacement clinical knowledge and collaborate with ambulatory clinic and nursing leaders to educate staff on best practices.
6. Coordinate care as the single point of contact/resource for patients, staff and physicians.
7. Participate in accreditation programs for the spine and joint replacement program as applicable.
8. Act as patient advocate and educator.
9. Create and coordinate patient-centered pathways utilizing the CareSense (or equivalent) program.
10. Promote spine and joint replacement evidence-based clinical practice.
11. Actively participate in Spine, Total Joint, Perioperative Surgical Home, and Patient Experience Committees.
12. Responds to the needs of the department by performing other duties, as necessary.