Job Responsibilities:

The Registered Nurse has authority, responsibility and accountability as follows:

• Assisting the Medical Director, medical staff and other registered nurses with the assessment, treatment and education of patients in the wound care program.
• Education:
• Accountable for patient education. 
• Responsible for maintaining own professional competencies. 
• Supports unit education through a variety of activities, such as precepting, unit in-services, and may also assist in organizational educational programs.
• Communication:
  
• Accountable for effective communication with patients/family, care team members and physicians regarding the patient’s progress on the plan of care and response to treatment.
  
• Staff Development: 
• Participates in the orientation of new employees. 
• Works in partnership with members of the team.
• Quality:
  
• Follows plan of care/Clinical Pathways assuring progression toward quality outcomes
  
• Collaboration:
• Consults with physicians and team members regarding changes in patient’s condition. 
• Supports roles of all co-workers. 
• Maintains effective relationships with primary and consulting physicians.
• Organizational Responsibilities:
• Displays leadership by modeling behaviors that support the Mission Statement, Service Standards, and Values Related Behaviors of the organization.
• Uses effective interpersonal skills to develop positive working relationships.
• Participates in educational opportunities for personal and professional growth.
• Contributes to organizational and departmental goals.
• Supports quality improvement by striving to do the right things the right way the first time.
• Uses quality tools and techniques as appropriate.
• Demonstrates flexibility and resilience in response to change
• Individual Effectiveness:
• Maintains a positive, open-minded, and team-oriented attitude.
• Follows through on commitments.
• Performs job responsibilities in a manner consistent with organizational policies.
• Communicates effectively with others.
• Uses resources effectively and efficiently.
• Makes suggestions and supports the implementation of strategies to increase revenue and/or reduce operational expenses.
• Customer Focus:
• Focuses efforts to provide services that exceed the expectations of our customers by anticipating and responding to customer needs.
• Sees customer satisfaction as a key measure of success.
• Integrates service focus into daily routine.
• Teamwork:
• Models teamwork by participating actively as a team member on a departmental and organizational level.
• Fosters collaboration among team members.
• Recognizes the efforts and successes of other individuals and teams.

Job Specific Responsibilities:

1. Primary Responsibilities:
• Perform patient care within the scope of practice as an RN, keeping complete and accurate patient records related to assessment, treatments, and documentation of care in a timely manner.
• Assist in the coordination of wound care patients.
• Assist in the day-to-day operation of the wound care program.
• Maintain competencies, continuing education, and certifications appropriate to the position.
• Participate in quality assurance programs as requested by the Clinical Manager and/or Director.
• Participate in the safety program.
• Participate in the discussion and review of articles in the field of wound care.
2. Assessment:
• Assess wound care patients within the guidelines of institutional policy.
• Assess the patient’s level of functioning on admission, transfer, and discharge, differentiating findings from defined limits of normal.
• Use professional judgment in day-to-day problem-solving and decision-making, seeking assistance from the Nurse Manager/Clinical Coordinator and peers as needed.
• Assist others.
• Assess a patient's educational needs and develop a plan to meet these needs.
• Assess discharge needs and communicate to team members.
3. Planning:
• Follow the plan of care in collaboration with the patient care team.
• Provide care considering the length of stay and patient/family needs.
• Review discharge care with patient/family/physician and other team members.
4. Intervention:
• Administer medications and treatments according to patient needs, physician orders, and policies, consistent with the scope of care for an RN.
• Participate in patient/family conferences as a member of the patient care team.
• Utilize patient teaching to provide new information to the patient/family according to policy.
• Collaborate with the Nurse Manager, Clinical Coordinator, physician, and other caregivers to provide effective patient care.
• Make rounds regularly on assigned patients.
• Document care in appropriate forms and the EHR in a timely manner.
• Ensure patients and their families are aware of team members' roles and introduce the care team on admission.
• Delegate tasks appropriately to team members.
5. Evaluation:
• Evaluate the patient’s response to treatment using knowledge of disease process and the patient’s story.
• Evaluate the patient’s progress on the plan of care.
• Evaluate patients' continued learning needs and provide feedback to the Nurse Manager/Clinical Coordinator.
6. Other Responsibilities:
• Demonstrate flexibility in meeting the staffing needs of the program.
• Utilize staffing and scheduling guidelines to identify staffing needs.
• Participate in new employee orientation.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Maintain clinical expertise in the area of specialty.
• Participate in performance improvement activities.