Clinic Nurse (Decatur) (RN) (U) (2703)

About the role

The nurse functions as a resource for the assigned Division within the Department of Surgery. Primary responsibility of the position is to ensure that safe, quality, efficient health care delivery is provided to patients. This nurse will serve as a patient service coordinator within the Division and provide direct nursing services for physicians to which he/she is assigned. This position performs daily application of the School’s mission and vision in providing the highest level of quality care to our patients, families, and in working with our employees, physicians, and the communities we serve. *This position is ON SITE only*

Responsibilities

• Provides clinic nursing care and delegation of clinical duties to LPN’s and MA’s while in clinic; obtains patient histories, assists with portions of physical examinations, administers medications, provides wound care, performs other nursing procedures and documents nursing functions appropriately.
• Performs clinic laboratory testing and procedural testing according to clinic protocols; reports findings to physician and records on patient medical record.
• Assists with procedures; sets up and/or completes procedures as necessary under the direction of the MD, APN, or PA.
• Develops and implements patient plan of care with the MD, APN, and/or PA; coordinates delivery of patient plan of care.
• Organizes clinic patient flow and revises as necessary to maximize physician productivity and minimize patient wait times.
• Schedules follow-up patient activities including radiology studies, surgical procedures and other testing as ordered by the MD, APN, or PA.
• Prepares for upcoming clinics by obtaining history from referring physician, pertinent radiologic studies, laboratory results, and operative reports when appropriate.
• Communicates with call center, patients, families and other healthcare professionals.
• Uses critical thinking skills to triage patient care priorities for patient phone calls and needs.
• Utilizes and maintains equipment used in the assessment and treatment of patients.
• Ensures accurate, current, and safe nursing procedures pertaining to patient care through appropriate functional supervision of clinical personnel in the clinical area.
• Acts as liaison between healthcare facilities and other specialty agencies.
• Functions as a primary nurse or back-up nurse as directed depending on the need; follows direction of the primary nurse and physician when functioning as the back-up nurse.
• Serves as a resource to departmental staff.
• Performs duties in other Divisions as assigned by the Nurse Administrator.
• Provides patient teaching and participates in staff and community education programs; provides orientation to daily clinic activities and training for nursing personnel, students and residents; assists with instruction of secretaries in the provision of patient activities; functions as resource person for general public requesting information regarding assigned Division and SIU Department of Surgery as a whole; completes annual training and competencies.
• Completes charge tickets for nursing services provided in the clinic; assures that tests and surgeries are precertified according to insurance requirements if necessary; participates in development of policies, procedures, and systems to support patient safety and quality care; maintains or delegates inventory of adequate supplies necessary for daily surgery clinic activities and makes recommendations to the Charge Nurse for equipment, commodities, and non-routine supplies; attends and participates in departmental/divisional staff meetings.
• Assists with planning and implementation of research projects as related to patient care; follows research protocols when conducting patient research, including obtaining informed consent, providing patient care as directed by research methodology, and documenting patient care according to protocol or clinic standards; collects and analyzes data and assists with publishing results as needed; attends SCHRIS training and maintains qualifications to participate in research, if applicable.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties described above.

Qualifications

• Licensure as a Registered Professional Nurse in Illinois.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work with others as a member of multiple disciplinary team.
• Problem solving abilities.
• Adaptability.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Condition of Employment: Out‑of‑state applicants hired into this position must establish Illinois residency within 180 calendar days of their start date.