Senior Staff Registered Nurse Department of Medicine (Medical Center)

At Houston Methodist, the Sr Staff Registered Nurse (RN) position is responsible for functioning as an advanced clinician at the Proficient level according to Benner's model of clinical practice. The Sr Staff RN position provides professional direct patient nursing care to a diverse patient population, which may include patients with varied and complex needs, and is considered an expert in a specialty. Besides conducting nursing assessments, assisting with exams and treatment and maintenance of medical records, this position assists in coaching and mentoring department staff in areas of clinical and professional practice. Role modeling compassionate communication with physicians and the interprofessional health care team, the Sr Staff RN position assumes leadership responsibilities with high level contributions in the department and across the institution. Responsibilities for this position may include but are not limited to leading department clinical activities, assessing department needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, serving as a clinical resource for department staff and coordinating department education in partnership with management.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited school of nursing OR Associate’s degree from an accredited school of nursing with an additional two years of nursing experience (in addition to the minimum experience requirements listed below)

EXPERIENCE

• Three years of nursing experience
• One year in specialty preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure - Texas Board of Nursing_PSV Compact Licensure – Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) and
• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Strong assessment, organizational and problem-solving skills as evidenced by capacity to prioritize multiple tasks and role components
• Ability to function independently and exercise judgment in interactions with physicians, interprofessional care team and patients and their families
• Acts as effective change agent
• Uses therapeutic communication to establish a relationship with patients, families and interprofessional team to collaborate on the plan of care
• Uses critical thinking skills and clinical judgment to work autonomously as defined by the Nurse Practice Act
• Demonstrates proficient time management skills
• Working knowledge of Microsoft products including Outlook

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies staff development opportunities for professional growth of colleagues, provides coaching to meet identified goals. Acts as a model and coaches staff in effective verbal, non-verbal and written communication, which includes active listening and teaching. Provides oversight for new employee preceptorships.
• Collaborates to foster healthy relationships in the work environment such as mitigation of conflict. Advocates for a balanced workload, promotes positive behaviors, and peer-to-peer accountability.
• Improves nurse satisfaction by serving as a role model and mentor, facilitating teamwork with RNs, non-licensed and interprofessional staff. Drives improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e., peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Role models the patient and family-centered care standards, as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document. Mentors others regarding specialty populations. Audits plan of care.
• Develops, updates, and communicates plan of care, including discharge/disposition, in partnership with the patient, family and interprofessional health care team, using the nursing process. Prioritizes care based on the patient’s needs, abilities, and preferences. Advocates on patient/family’s behalf to identify and resolve clinical and ethical concerns. Develops appropriate resources and supports department practices and guidelines.
• Develops and implements effective patient teaching strategies based on learning needs; uses appropriate resources, incorporating planning for care after discharge/disposition. Consistently evaluates the patient’s comprehension and adapts teaching methods accordingly.
• Drives department activities to improve department score for patient satisfaction, through peer-to-peer accountability to service standards.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Models the standards of care related to the nursing process, as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document. Provides care as the staff nurse leader to complex patients and leads the interprofessional health care team in implementing plan of care. Anticipates/prevents and recognize/resolves early declines in patient condition and emergent situations. Manages assignment of complex patients and other department demands. Identifies areas of practice improvements with research-based evidence to achieve quality measures and patient safety outcomes, supported by accurate documentation and patient teaching.
• Models the standards related to regulatory requirements and professional practice as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document. Role models highly developed assessment, clinical documentation, leadership, and analytical skills; integrates and contributes to professional practice standards, policies, procedures, protocols and leads improvements in patient safety-related processes at department or service line level. Contributes to development of service line and clinical standards and guidelines.
• Partners on initiatives to improve quality and safety scores, through peer-to-peer accountability, reporting near misses and identifying solutions by collaborating with the interprofessional team. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Models independent time management effectively and prioritization of daily tasks, minimizing incidental overtime. Actively participates in the stewardship and efficient utilization of resources and needs including capital and operational budget needs.
• Implements department strategies to achieve financial target and mentors others to do the same through timely documentation of care, optimizing efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime, and other areas according to department specifications.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies opportunities for practice changes and performance improvement. Investigates and incorporates evidence-based practices which are presented to department and leadership. Supports change initiatives and adapts to unexpected changes.
• Champions new care pathways or service line implementations to improve care to the community. Identifies trends for improvement opportunities or practice changes and supports initiatives. Researches the change and presents options to appropriate clinical leadership.
• Expands individual nursing knowledge and coaches staff to grow in knowledge, abilities, skills, and attitudes. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Serves as the clinical resource. Develops and disseminates, as appropriate, informational/educational resources and programs designed to improve quality and professional practice. Completes and updates My Development plan on an on-going basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: No
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited school of nursing OR Associate’s degree from an accredited school of nursing with an additional two years of nursing experience (in addition to the minimum experience requirements listed below)

EXPERIENCE

• Three years of nursing experience
• One year in specialty preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure - Texas Board of Nursing_PSV Compact Licensure – Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) and
• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association