Perioperative Nurse Coordinator

At Houston Methodist, the Perioperative Nurse Coordinator position is an experienced Operating Room Nurse, serving as a clinical resource, assumes leadership responsibilities with high-level contributions in direct patient interaction, functioning at the Expert level according to Benner's model of clinical practice. This position acts as the primary liaison between other departments, vendors, surgeons, anesthesia, and Operating Room (OR) staff, assisting management with the coordination and facilitation of care, process improvement, quality initiatives, and the overall growth of the perioperative program. The Perioperative Nurse Coordinator position provides patient care as an operating room nurse circulator or in a scrub role, as needed, and assists with providing breaks and lunches for staff. This position will assist with the standardization and efficiency of care for patients in the perioperative environment, evaluating direct and indirect costs. The Perioperative Nurse Coordinator position ensures appropriate and adequate resources are allocated for scheduled surgeries, including but not limited to appropriate staffing and staff skills set, supplies, instruments, and equipment. Responsibilities for the Perioperative Nurse Coordinator position may also include serving as charge nurse, leading unit, and shared governance activities, assessing perioperative needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, coordinating unit education, tailored training for specific procedures using specialty equipment, instrumentation, and supplies. The Perioperative Nurse Coordinator acts as a role model and mentor to other OR staff and a catalyst for change to enhance patient care and outcome.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited school of Nursing
• Master’s degree preferred

EXPERIENCE

• Five years registered nurse experience in an operating room setting
• Six months in a previous leadership capacity, e.g., committee chair, charge nurse or coordinator 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 and
• CNOR - Certified Operating Room Nurse (CCI) - Cardiovascular Credentialing International_PSV through National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the American Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC)

Preferred

• ACLS - Advanced Cardiac Life Support or Instructor (AHA) as defined by unit/service line

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing 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
• Demonstrates an effective community resource knowledge base and the judgment/ability to effectively select and coordinate available resources, including referrals to regulatory agencies
• Demonstrates highly developed and strong clinical, documentation, and analytical skills
• Displays professionalism, remains composed under stress, and takes responsibility for delivering on personal and organizational commitments
• Able to work independently; possess organization/time management and prioritization skills
• Demonstrates sound clinical problem solving and critical thinking skills regarding the functionality of surgical instrumentation
• Acts as effective change agent
• 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 healthcare team and patients and their families
• Uses critical thinking skills and clinical judgment to work autonomously as defined by the Nurse Practice Act

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Provides coordination and leadership for ensuring overall perioperative workflow, quality, positive patient outcomes, high level of satisfaction for all stakeholders. Assists with coordinating case observations, orientations, preceptorships, clinical rotations, and other training in the department.
• Develops strong relationships with physicians, vendors, and healthcare providers to assure effective communication in patient care. Serves as a liaison between ancillary departments, clinical specialists, physicians, and patients to ensure efficient patient flow for perioperative patients.
• Communicates in a clear, positive, and effective manner to all health care team members, creating a climate free of fear by communicating and questioning, encouraging, and supporting others to do the same, constructively influencing team morale. Teaches others to critically think by verbally expressing rationale for decisions and following up by coaching and critiquing colleagues’ thought processes in complex situations.
• Solicits feedback regarding other staff’s level of competence to ensure appropriate skill set is matched with assigned surgery in collaboration with the OR charge nurse. Collaborates with educators and vendors to provide timely in-services for the OR staff. Implements initiatives to improve department score for employee engagement.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Collaborates with anesthesia, OR charge nurse, and OR management to maximize efficiency and flow of cases throughout the day utilizing one’s knowledge and expertise of the scheduled surgeries. Assists in managing and coordinating the effective scheduling of surgery in collaboration with OR team and Centralized Scheduling. Ensures all emergency and urgent add-on cases are communicated timely to the OR staff and other members of the team such as anesthesia, Sterile Processing staff, Pre-op, Perfusionists, ICU, Monitoring Tech, Cell Saver Tech, surgical assistants, etc. Performs frequent rounding in the operating rooms to check with and support staff, ascertain case duration timeframes, and respond accordingly. Provides input regarding OR block utilization and management.
• Reviews the OR schedule in advance and addresses any potential issues and concerns. Assists with ensuring OR staff check rooms, putting away unused supplies, equipment, restocking, etc. Communicates directly with the surgeon, office staff, scheduling, vendors, and other entities to ensure everything is ready for the scheduled surgery. Validates potential revisions and accurately updates physician preference cards in a timely manner ensuring all involved staff and surgeon are aware of the changes.
• Serves as instructor in continuing education or formal program and expert consultation. Assists and collaborates with educators to meet the educational needs of the staff and to develop informational/educational resources and programs related to relevant service lines, teaching nursing care principles, and advanced technical knowledge. Assists in the development of competency checklists that address aspects of the scrubbing and circulating roles during procedures. Assumes the role of an expert consultant.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Actively participates in a wide range of performance improvement activities/initiatives regarding surgery by identifying, presenting, and leading improvements in surgery or patient safety-related processes at department or hospital level. Collaborates with Quality Department and perioperative teams to identify key areas for clinical improvement, benchmarking performance against national standards where applicable, and developing actionable recommendations to enhance patient care. Works in collaboration with teams to provide solutions by participating in unit projects and shared governance activities. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.
• Serves as a clinical resource and leader for complex and/or highly specialized patient care situations to the Perioperative team and other health care professionals within the hospital and in the community. Provides direct patient care, as needed, as a nurse circulator or scrub role and leads the multidisciplinary team in the provision of patient care.
• Contributes to the development of department and hospital standards and guidelines relevant to Perioperative patient care. Implements and monitors initiatives to improve compliance with designated core measure and metrics. Evaluates patient outcomes to ensure appropriate trends. Ensures appropriate data is collected and submitted to appropriate databases as assigned. Maintains interdepartmental accountability for systems-related issues that impact quality patient care.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies and promotes cost savings initiatives through active involvement and leadership with inventory management, evaluation of new products, surgeon preference card accuracy, and prevention of waste in collaboration with Supply Chain, OR team, surgeons, and others ensuring the highest quality of care is provided at the reasonable cost. Participates in decisions impacting operational and capital needs as appropriate. Assists in establishing departmental budget and allocation of appropriate resources.
• Contributes to oversight of staffing and patient care resources taking into consideration the department’s financial and productivity goals. Ensures that all supply and implant charges are entered accurately and timely by staff and vendors. Implements department strategies to achieve efficiency and financial targets such as first case start times, turnover times, case durations, direct and indirect costs, etc. Mentors and encourages others to support these strategies for sustained success.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Actively participates in the marketing of assigned service lines directly or indirectly through various approved and effective methods. Collaborates with others in the development and sharing of information about the service lines at the department, hospital, System, and/or community setting.
• Accepts and supports new and innovative technology with an open mind and willingness to learn, adapt, and utilize the technology per HM guidelines. Maintains personal and professional development through organization membership and other related avenues. Attends workshops and other educational programs to ensure awareness of current developments and trends.
• Identifies and assumes responsibility of own learning needs, consults with healthcare team experts, and seeks continuing education opportunities to meet those needs. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an ongoing basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: Yes
• 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* Yes

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
• Master’s degree preferred

EXPERIENCE

• Five years registered nurse experience in an operating room setting
• Six months in a previous leadership capacity, e.g., committee chair, charge nurse or coordinator 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 and
• CNOR - Certified Operating Room Nurse (CCI) - Cardiovascular Credentialing International_PSV through National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the American Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC)

Preferred

• ACLS - Advanced Cardiac Life Support or Instructor (AHA) as defined by unit/service line