Charge Nurse - Observation Unit

At Houston Methodist, the Charge Nurse position is a licensed professional Registered Nurse (RN) who, as an experienced clinician, functions at the Competent to Proficient stage of Benner's model of clinical practice. This position creates an environment for the management and delivery of safe patient care. In addition to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of a clinical nurse, the Charge Nurse position is a role model and coach to department personnel and assists in developing their skills and knowledge. This position provides nursing care to a diverse patient population. 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 Charge Nurse assumes leadership responsibilities with high-level contributions at the bedside, unit, service line, and across the institution. Responsibilities for this position may include but are not limited to leading unit and shared governance activities, assessing unit needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, serving as a clinical resource for both unit and hospital staff and coordinating unit and hospital-wide education in partnership with management.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Graduate of education program approved by the credentialing body for the required credential(s) indicated below in the Certifications, Licenses and Registrations section

EXPERIENCE

• Twenty four months of clinical nursing experience with demonstration of progressive leadership skills

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

Preferred

• Magnet - ANCC Recognized Certification
• ACLS - Advanced Cardiac Life Support or Instructor (AHA)
• NIHSTROKE - National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Certification (AHA)
• NVCRISIS - Nonviolent Crisis Intervention or Instructor (CPI)

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
• 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
• Demonstrates proficient time management skills
• Demonstrates highly developed assessment skills; contributes to policies, procedure and protocols
• Has knowledge of Nursing Unit’s Dashboard and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores
• Demonstrates expertise in operating the electronic medical record
• Maintains level of professional contributions as defined in Clinical Career Path program guide

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Fosters staff engagement by demonstrating active listening, requesting and acknowledging feedback, making equitable decisions, providing rationale when appropriate, and supporting organizational goals. Anticipates the needs of the staff members and proactively offers assistance. Role models inter-professional communication, which includes active listening and teaching, and assists with staff stress management as needed. Improves departmental scores for turnover/retention on unit-based scorecard.
• Role models fair and consistent leadership skills for effective team dynamics and team building strategies through problem solving, coaching, and developing staff. Coaches staff to use efficient and effective communication to establish and maintain a team environment, and to include the patient and family as a part of the team regarding their plan of care. Provides input into staff performance reviews, as appropriate.
• Functions as a mentor and resource to unit staff, provides oversight for students/new employee/preceptorships. Identifies levels of organizational conflict and applies tools to effectively resolve concerns, complaints or conflict with patients, families, physicians and other inter-professional healthcare team members.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Leads 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. Practices in a manner that is congruent with cultural diversity and inclusion principles.
• Maintains ongoing interactions with patients, families, and staff on the improvement of patient care through leader rounding. Ensures effective collaboration with other departments regarding patient process issues.
• Drives department service standards and activities to improve department score for patient satisfaction on unit-based scorecard, through role modeling and fostering accountability.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Models the standards of care related to the nursing process, as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document, by actively participating in meeting and improving nurse sensitive quality indicators and patient safety goals. Participates in the creation of a continuous improvement environment by promoting situational awareness, assisting with audits as needed, and using teachable moments.
• Coordinates nursing care throughout the shift considering patient acuity, staff skill level and safety to ensure that our duty to our patients can be met. Models the standards related to regulatory requirements and professional practice as outlined in the Houston Methodist Professional Nursing Practice document.
• Facilitates seamless patient flow to/from/through the department, leading the delivery of quality family-centered care throughout the continuum of care. Ensures the patient plan of care is accurate and timely, coaching staff if documentation deficiencies are identified. Works closely with the OAs and bed management regarding timely patient placement. Proactively recognizes, determines a plan of action, and responds to situations, such as Rapid Response/CERTs, and emergency codes.
• Participates in initiatives to improve quality and safety scores on the unit and hospital scorecards, 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. Assists with audits as needed.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Implements department strategies to achieve financial target on unit-based scorecard and mentors others to do the same through timely documentation of care, decreasing length of stay, optimizing efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime, and other areas according to departmental specifications.
• Attends daily care coordination rounds to facilitate patient progression. Ensures that follow-up has been implemented on any concerns or issues identified by the team. Manages productivity in accordance with staffing grid.
• Provides input into unit resource utilization including unit capital and operational budget needs. Oversees shift by shift resource utilization through the allocation of staff, supplies and contributions to the patient throughput.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Fosters identification and implementation of innovative solutions for practice changes to improve patient care or unit operations such as reduction of hospital readmissions or other department-specific measures by leading and/or participating in unit projects and shared governance activities. Investigates and incorporates evidence-based practices which are presented to shared governance and leadership. Supports change initiatives and adapts to unexpected changes.
• Expands individual nursing knowledge and coaches staff to grow in knowledge, abilities, skills, and attitudes. Serves as clinical resource. Develops and disseminates, as appropriate, informational/educational resources and programs designed to improve quality and professional practice.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: Yes
• 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* 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