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JD Attached*

General Purpose of Job:

The SWAT staff nurse (RN) is a Licensed Registered Nurse who provides direct nursing care to assigned patient/patient populations in various units throughout the hospital.  The SWAT staff nurse utilizes the nursing process, plans, and delivers effective patient care within the framework of Driscoll Children's Hospital vision of excellence and integrated care delivery.  The SWAT staff nurse complies within the established standards and clinical guidelines reflective of evidence-based best practice.  The practice of the SWAT staff nurse contributes to creating an environment that is patient-focused-family centered and designed to provide continuation of care and patient self-care competencies across the continuum.

Age-Related Competence:

Must demonstrate the knowledge and skill necessary to provide appropriate care to the age of patients served on the units.  Must demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient’s status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient’s requirements relative to their needs.  Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide individualized patient care based upon considerations of age-specific needs and issues for all age groups.

• Exercises appropriate age-specific communication skills when interacting with customers, patients, and families.
• Utilize age specific teaching methods when working with patients and families.
• Interacts in an appropriate manner based on developmental age.
• Positions patient based on an understanding of developmental age.
• Implements safety measures that are appropriate to developmental age.
• Uses age appropriate equipment and supplies.

Essential functions and behavioral expectations:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; employees will perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor and/or hospital administration as required.

• Maintains utmost level of confidentiality at all times.
• Adheres to hospital policies and procedures.
• Demonstrates business practices and personal actions that are ethical and adhere to corporate compliance and integrity guidelines.

Quality of Care:

• Participates in QA tool development.
• Collects QA data as indicated.
• Identifies trends in patient care outcomes for QA monitoring or staff education.
• Participates in clinical research following specific protocols.
• Ensures safe care by using assertive interactions with the health care team.

Assessment and Monitoring:

• Performs initial and focused assessment.
• Recognizes and reports actual and potential health problems.
• Reports pertinent patient response to interventions.
• Modifies plan of care based on patient assessment.
• Uses chain of command to obtain appropriate health care response as an advocate for the patient.

Professional Work Role/Leadership:

• Demonstrates flexibility in staffing and scheduling to meet hospital wide unit needs.
• Prioritizes plans organizes and directs care of assigned patients.
• Identifies team conflict and helps to initiate resolution.
• Recognizes own limitations and seeks guidance.
• Supports goals through participation and compliance in unit activities and decision-making.

Therapeutic Interventions:

• Administers medications per clinical guidelines, recognizes abnormal responses to medication therapy and initiates corrective therapy.
• Develops, implements, and individualized plans of care to meet patient needs and diagnoses.
• Intervenes appropriately after correlating clinical picture to therapeutic treatment plan.
• Selects and utilizes appropriate equipment, devices, and supplies based on patient needs and treatment plans.

Crisis Management:

• Identifies critical changes in patient’s condition and follows through with appropriate actions.
• Ensures the correct functioning of emergency equipment identifies deficits and follows through.
• Assists with changes in hospital wide unit needs during a crisis situation.
• Re-establishes unit function after a crisis situation.
• Participates in review of unit response to crisis situation.

Helping/Teaching:

• Identifies barriers to learning, develops and implements discharge plan based on patient/family needs.
• Incorporates cultural aspects of illness/hospitalization for patient/family into the plan of care.
• Established and maintains a therapeutic relationship with patient and family.
• Decreases apprehension and anxiety using individualized interventions to ensure patient comfort dignity.
• Functions as a patient/family advocate seeking direction as needed to provide safe, effective, efficient, and timely care.

License, Education and/or Experience:

BSN preferred.

Current RN license in the State of Texas.

Certificates, Registrations.

• BLS (must be American Heart Association) and Advanced Specialty Courses (ASC)/Credentials according to Attachment A (available in department)
• ASC courses should be taken at earliest opportunity, completed within timeframes specified on Attachment A and continuously maintained ongoing
• National Certification in specialty must be attempted within 3 years of completing orientation and if successful, continuously maintained ongoing