Nurse Navigator Cardiac Cath Lab

General Summary of Position: The Nurse Navigator is responsible for the coordination of patient care across the continuum under the auspices of a provider#s prescribed plan of care, national guidelines, and within the scope of nursing practice.# The navigator educates/provides information and support to patients in order to guide and facilitate understanding of treatment plans prescribed by licensed independent practitioners and/or within scope of nursing practice.# Oversees, directs, and provides holistic, culturally competent and evidence-based nursing care.# Monitors patient outcomes and participates in quality improvement activities.# Contributes to and collaborates with health care team members to positively impact patient outcomes and patient experiences.# The Nurse Navigator is recognized as a professional role model and clinical expert and promotes a professional environment that supports nursing excellence and collaborative shared decision-making.# Education: Bachelor#s degree in Nursing is required.# Master#s degree preferred.# Professional certification in clinical area required within six months of hire# if appropriate (OCN, CCRN, etc). Experience: Approximately three to four years of progressively more responsible clinical nursing experience in specialty area is required.# Certification/Registration/Licensure: License as a registered nurse in the District of Columbia is required.

• Job Summary
• The Nurse Navigator is responsible for the coordination of patient care across the continuum under the auspices of a providers prescribed plan of care, national guidelines, and within the scope of nursing practice. The navigator educates/provides information and support to patients in order to guide and facilitate understanding of treatment plans prescribed by licensed independent practitioners and/or within scope of nursing practice. Oversees, directs, and provides holistic, culturally competent and evidence-based nursing care. Monitors patient outcomes and participates in quality improvement activities. Contributes to and collaborates with health care team members to positively impact patient outcomes and patient experiences. The Nurse Navigator is recognized as a professional role model and clinical expert and promotes a professional environment that supports nursing excellence and collaborative shared decision-making.
• Minimum Qualifications
• Education/Training
• Bachelors degree in Nursing is required. Masters degree preferred. Professional certification in clinical area required within six months of hire if appropriate (OCN, CCRN, etc).
• Experience
• Approximately three to four years of progressively more responsible clinical nursing experience in specialty area is required.
• On The Job Experience
• Approximately six to twelve months to gain familiarity with the Hospital environment, department routines and procedures, and the full range of job duties
• License/Certification/Registration
• License as a registered nurse in the District of Columbia is required
• Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• PROBLEM SOLVING Job requires a relatively high level of independent practice and problem solving to find solutions to difficult human, technical, clinical or administrative problems.
• INTERNAL CONTACTS Internal contacts necessary to effectively advise, consult or counsel others to gain cooperation and acceptance of ideas or actions.
• INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT Work assignments are generally received in the form of broad goals or areas of responsibility and require considerable judgment regarding the interpretation of policies, development of procedures, and selection of appropriate courses of action.
• Primary Duties and Responsibilities
• Assessment: Obtains a baseline of information used for the development of the individualized plan of care.
• Plans:
• Works with an interdisciplinary team throughout the continuum of care to develop and manage the plan of care for the patient.
• Assists patient/family with scheduling ancillary testing and other services and presenting necessary history, diagnostic/treatment studies and/or results, etc through the continuum of care.
• Assists at risk patients, family and friends with risk assessment, screening and education by working collaboratively with appropriate resources.
• Plans for continuing care such as, but not limited to, patient and community services, community outreach resources, home care, palliative, and hospice services as necessary.
• Patient Education:
• Provides initial and continuing education related to specific disease process, associated treatment modality, and agreed plan of care for patient and family.
• Available as a resource to assist in the provision of community education and outreach development.
• Implementation:
• Acts as a liaison between patients, families, the health care team, community resources and other facilities to coordinate the provision of care.
• Acts as a patient advocate to help identify and eliminate barriers to care.
• Acts as a clearinghouse for incoming referral calls in an effort to streamline the delivery and coordination of care.
• Ensures patients referral process and transition into specialty services are timely and efficient, anticipates patient and family needs throughout the continuum of care.
• Explores and connects patients with appropriate resources, health care and support services within MedStar Washington Hospital Center, at other external facilities, and in their communities for timely diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
• Supports and promotes quality and patient safety initiatives. Collaborates with physicians and associates to monitor and analyzes departmental performance data and identifies and participates in hospital and/or unit-based performance improvement activities including, but not limited to, core measures, nursing quality indicators, and other patient care outcomes (e.g. Length of stay and patient satisfaction).*Delivers direct patient care as required.
• Evaluation: Monitors patient progress, goal attainment and patient experience feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of care. Ensures plan of care changes are communicated to patient, family, and team.
• Possesses working knowledge of physician/health care team members plan of care, appropriate professional guidelines and standards of care. Contributes to development of internal clinical guidelines/pathways.
• Monitors patient outcomes and utilizes quality improvement activities and strategies that support quality patient care and optimizes outcomes in an interdisciplinary care environment and consistent with patient and family wishes.
• Demonstrates competencies, including knowledge and behaviors, to meet specific patient care requirements, nursing practice standards, and other regulatory or required knowledge and /or skills.* Maintains current knowledge of clinical improvement strategies and outcomes management through self-study, literature reviews, site visits, educational conferences, and other forums.
• Maintains a working knowledge of available clinical trials that might be appropriate to the patient population. Collaborates with research coordinators and/or principle investigators to ensure adherence to research protocols.
• Supports a professional atmosphere and an environment of coaching and development that supports shared decision making, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a high level of patient and employee satisfaction as evidenced by outcomes data.
• Able to work as a part of an interdisciplinary team through open, frequent, and skilled verbal and written communication. Must be flexible, demonstrate problem solving skills, proactively prioritize and demonstrates healthy coping mechanisms.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities that are appropriate to the position and area.