Specialty Unit Staff RN - Stepdown

As the leader of the health care team, provides professional nursing care, utilizing the nursing process in accordance with established standards of care, policies, and procedures. Demonstrates performance consistent with the Medical Center Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan of the organization. Remains flexible to changing systems; is expected to demonstrate quality and effectiveness in work habits and clinical practice; and treats co-workers, patients, families, and all members of the health care team with dignity and respect.

The Registered Nurse demonstrates proficiency by exhibiting the following skills, competencies, and behaviors:

Leadership:

• Upholds Kaiser Permanentes Policies and Procedures, Principles of Responsibilities, and applicable state, federal and local laws.
• Serves as a leader of the health care team; delegates tasks appropriately, and demonstrates appropriate accountability.
• Understands own and team members scope of practice and escalates issues as appropriate.
• Demonstrates professional, supportive behavior.
• Champions new ideas.
• Leads and directs others through the change process.
• Utilizes communication strategies including chain of command and issue escalation, which result in intended outcomes.
• Participates in problem identification and resolution.
• Mentors, orients, and coaches others in unit specific operations and patient care activities
• Shares responsibility and authority with subordinates and holds him/her accountable for performance.
• Demonstrates ability to problem solve with other departments in order to assist member problem resolution.
• Prioritizes, delegates, and supervises work assignments appropriately to ensure completion of patient care activities.
• Complies with regulatory requirements, policies, procedures, and standards of practice.

Nursing Process:

• Develops and/or contributes to the individualized plan of care that reflects assessment, planning, implementing, and evaluating the outcomes of that plan.
• Ensures plan shows multidisciplinary planning, consultation, and education.
• Ensures plan is reflective of admission or outpatient database, on-going findings, age appropriate care, cultural specific needs, and appropriate acuity.
• Ensures plan is discussed with patient, family/significant others, and completed in a timely manner.
• Monitors the patients progress based on the plan.
• Revises plan on ongoing basis based on patient condition and evaluation of progress.
• Ensures care meets standards of practice.
• Ensures effective development and completion of discharge plan including discharge barriers and patient/family education.  Ensures that patient clearly understands discharge instructions. In outpatient, identify barriers and needs for patient/family education that will facilitate the outpatient medical management plan.
• Ensures patient safety related but not limited to, medications and procedures utilizing the five rights; patient falls; decubitus prevention and prevention of nosocomial infections.
• Ensures optimal pain control and patient comfort; identifies and discusses patient anxieties, fears or concerns regarding patient condition, treatment or discharge.
• Ensures that patient understands medication purpose, side effects, and administration instructions in the hospital as well as at the time of discharge.

Documentation:

• Charting is accurate, legible, dated, and timed.
• Documentation reflects nursing process and interventions and evaluations taken.  
• Utilizes computer systems effectively and efficiently for optimal patient care.

Clinical Outcomes:

• Discusses patient findings and progress toward outcomes with physicians and other members of the health care team.
• Demonstrates competencies during the probationary period and ongoing completion by departmental competency validation.
• Make comprehensive nursing decisions based on interpretation of data, assessments, and evaluations of patient outcomes.
• Participates in departmental performance improvement activities, i.e., planning, measuring/monitoring, assessing, and improving.

Workplace Safety:

• Adherence to LMP Workplace Safety principles and practices.
• Applies standard precautions; maintains a safe environment for self and others

Patient Care Experience:

• Practices customer service standards as defined by the Service Area, Medical Center, and specified department.
• Promptly answers call lights, alarms, and patient requests.
• Makes appropriate referrals and facilitates the customers ability to utilize resources.
• Maintains and protects patient confidentiality
• Ensures clean, orderly, and functional work environment.
• Treats all families of patients with courtesy, respect, kindness and compassion.
• Provides an optimal patient care experience by actively listening to the needs of patients and family members and taking responsibility for meeting those identified needs.
• Gives patients information in a way they can understand and ensures comprehension.
• Provides a patient care experience that exceeds members expectations.

Team Commitment:

• Viewed by others to be an effective team member who is flexible, cooperative, and willing to assist others.
• Confronts difficult or conflict situations constructively and seeks appropriate assistance.
• Takes accountability for own actions and accepts constructive criticism.
• Acts as a resource, preceptor, and mentor to new employees, registry, students, and other team members.
• Attends all mandatory meetings, in-services and staff meetings as required, actively participates in other departmental professional development. (Requirement may vary for per diem staff).
• Participates with the assessment of current and future unit learning needs and development of an annual education plan.
• Keeps self informed of activities on the unit and makes recommendations for change.
• Adheres to Attendance Program.  Reports to assigned area promptly, being present and available for report at beginning of assigned shift.
• Supports a collaborative Labor-Management Partnership environment through unit based teams.

Fiscal Responsibility

• Organizes work to minimize the use of overtime.
• Identifies and assists in systems improvement that needs simplification or correction.
• Utilizes payroll and non-payroll resources to their maximum potential.