Job Description
The Clinical Service Leader, RN, is responsible for the development of nursing staff within a specified area of practice and for impacting patient outcomes through consultation on patient care issues in addition to perioperative RN duties. The Service Lead __ responsibilities encompass the following areas: clinical practice, professional development, collaboration/consultation, staff development, leadership and evidence based practice.
PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
CLINICAL PRACTICE
- Interprets, supports, and practices the mission and philosophy of Tufts Medical Center and the Operating Room.
- Serves as a clinical resource, consultant and role model for nursing staff providing support in the practice of perioperative nursing.
- Provides support and expertise to the Department of Surgery in the care and education of staff, physicians and patients within area of specialty. Keeps preference cards updated.
- Integrates knowledge, research findings and experience to enhance nursing practice and to promote excellence in patient care. Validates nursing practice within specialty area by benchmarking with Best Practices.
- Maintain flexibility and adapts to a variety of workload assignments.
- Precepts inexperienced team members, uses expert clinical skills to provide initial and ongoing assessment and evaluation of nursing care.
- Establishes and maintains effective written and verbal communication skills. Can communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
- Able to work independently and utilize time management concepts to maximize time efficiency.
- Develops, monitors, and evaluates QI projects on a unit and hospital level using quality outcome indicators. Plans one QA project per year, related to service area.
- Serves on a committee at the unit, surgical services or hospital level.
- Responsible to respond to service related needs for new products and equipment, and following established processes for acquisition of these.
- Responsible for service related resource materials, including preference cards and nursing help manuals.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Maintains competency in organizational, departmental, and outside agency safety standards relative to job requirements. Meets all hospital/ operating room mandatory requirements.
- Develops leadership skills and promotes clinical expertise using various methods such as networking, professional development classes and literature review.
- Networks with management, other hospitals, physicians, peers, and Manager of Quality Outcomes for role development.
COLLABORATION/CONSULTATION
- Serves as a clinical and collaborative role model.
- Collaborates and coordinates resources to facilitate patients’ plan of care; provides direct and/or indirect care to patients including scrubbing and circulating. Reviews the OR schedule 3 days in advance to determine resources required. Escalates concerns/variances to nurse manager.
- Collaborates/consults with other affiliates in the value analysis of supplies and equipment and evaluates the impact of supply and equipment changes on the environment of care.
- Consults with other members of the unit based management team on patient care, staff development and practice issues.
- Collaborates on an interdisciplinary basis to develop protocols, policies and procedures and practice guidelines.
- Collaborates with nurses and other members of the health care team related to the patient plan of care.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
- Collaborates with the management team and staff in the development, facilitation, and evaluation of orientation framework for the specialty area. Creates specific orientation checklist for assigned service.
- With the Professional Practice Director , helps develop, implement, and evaluate unit based / specialty based competencies.
- Assesses learning needs of staff and provides formal and informal educational opportunities to increase knowledge and improve clinical care.
- Trains staff (preceptor) or arranges education on new products and/or service related equipment and monitors compliance and ongoing competency.
- Assists in mandatory education activities. Gives at least one service-related educational presentation per year.
- Evaluates current practice in service area using national bench marking.
LEADERSHIP
- Facilitates an empowered environment that recognizes and responds to psychosocial, developmental, and professional practice issues through mentoring, group support, personal consultation, resource identification and team building.
- Demonstrates a commitment to addressing ongoing cost effectiveness of patient care delivery, a skill set in financial management, to include cost management for service area.
EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
- Accountable for providing clinically sound and evidence-based information. Helps write policies based on AORN standards, Best Practices and other outside agency requirements, such as the Joint Commission and FDA.
- Participates in research activities.
AGE SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES
Incorporates cultural and age appropriate care in all aspects of patient care and interactions with physicians, management, peers, and visitors in the OR, and anyone who will be greeted as a customer of Tufts Medical Center. Has the skills and knowledge to provide care to the age groups of the population served including:
- Knowledge of growth and development
- Ability to interpret age specific data and response to care
- Provide age appropriate communication