Diabetes Nurse Educator

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives. Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care (BILHPC) is building a high performance primary care model that will enable the organization to be a leader in patient experience, provider and care team work life, and quality of care both regionally and nationally. Additionally, we are working to establish a diabetes education program which will provide quality care and medication-assisted therapy for patients with diabetes in an outpatient setting.

About the Role

The Diabetes Educator Team Nurse partners with providers, pharmacists, nutritionists, and other members of the care team to help educate, support, and improve health outcomes of patients with diabetes. This role serves as a resource for the region in educating and supporting people affected by diabetes to understand and manage the condition, achieve behavioral and treatment goals, and optimize health outcomes. Responsibilities include participating in diabetic group sessions, providing educational sessions and tools for care teams and team nurses, maintaining a working relationship with Joslin Care Network, and partnering with BILH Primary Care Leadership 1-2 hours per month to create and present educational materials.

Responsibilities

• Perform all duties of a Team Nurse, including:
  • Coordinate and facilitate quality clinical management of a broad-based outpatient population across the continuum of care.
  • Collaborate with providers to identify needs for preventive care, evidence-based chronic disease management, and care coordination.
  • Provide general and specific healthcare education.
  • Work directly with patients to identify and monitor self-management goals.
  • Collaborate care with community-based providers.
  • Follow up on ED visits and inpatient discharges.
  • Assist providers with exams, treatments, and procedures as needed.
  • Provide skilled telephonic triage, assessment, education, collaboration, and coordination of healthcare and community resources.
  • Perform a direct patient care role, including Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) and Chronic Care Management (CCM).
  • Responsible for INR management and teaching for patients on Coumadin using a standardized protocol.
  • Administer vaccines and medications by parenteral, oral, rectal, or nasal route as ordered by the prescribing provider and according to Medication Administration policy guidelines.
  • Provide patient education as appropriate for administered medication.
  • Perform a wide range of nursing activities under the direction of the provider, such as wound care and point-of-care testing.
  • Accurately document all aspects of patient care in the Electronic Health Record in a timely manner.
  • Schedule tests and referrals for specialty care on order of the provider.
  • Monitor and ensure follow-up of all abnormal test and imaging results under the direction of the provider.
  • Oversee inventory and ordering management of clinical supplies and equipment as necessary.
  • Ensure safe, accurate, and clinically appropriate collection, storage, and processing of all biologic specimens.
  • Provide oversight, delegation, and act as a resource to unlicensed staff, including MAs, Certified Nursing Assistants, and Nursing Students.
  • Provide ongoing education and training to practice staff.
  • Update clinical knowledge and skills through consultation, review of literature, and formal and informal education, including CEUs.
  • Maintain compliance with organizational mandatory annual training.
  • Ensure that PHI (Patient Health Information) is only used for the purposes of patient TPO (treatment, payment, and operations).
  • Ensure patient safety practices to prevent/eliminate risk of patient harm.
  • Promptly report adverse patient events and near misses to the BIDHC Risk Management Department.
• Perform duties related specifically to diabetes education:
  • Perform clinical and psychosocial assessment of diabetes patients in either an individual or group setting.
  • Identify educational needs for diabetes self-management knowledge and skills.
  • Develop and implement a plan of care based on clinical expertise, scientific principles, and the patients' lifestyle and culture.
  • Empower diabetes patients with knowledge and skills to attain optimal control and prevent acute/chronic complications.
  • Educate in areas of medication administration, self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG), continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMS), pump therapy, nutrition, exercise, recognition & treatment of acute complications, and preventive health skills in accordance with current clinical practice recommendations utilizing learning objectives and behavioral goals.
  • Monitor patients' response to therapy and revise plan as indicated.
  • Prevent/decrease incidence of complications by supporting preventive health risk behaviors (Ophthalmology, podiatry, lipids, A1C, urine M/A).
  • Conduct ongoing quality improvement studies.
  • Support hospital policies and procedures while sustaining a safe environment.
  • Recognize the importance of continuous diabetes education and self-learning needs while maintaining current skills and knowledge.
  • Provide educational sessions and tools for care teams.

Requirements

• Graduate from an accredited Nursing Program required; Bachelor's degree preferred.
• 1-3 years of related work experience required.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong patient communication and patient education skills.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access and other web-based applications. May produce complex documents, perform analysis, and maintain databases.

Qualifications

• Licensure, Certification, Registration:
  • Registered Nurse license required, or Licensed Practical Nurse registration required.
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required.
  • Certified Diabetic Care Educator and Specialist (CDCES) required.
  • CPR Certification.
• Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience in using diabetes technologies preferred.
• Competencies:
  • Decision Making: Ability to make decisions guided by general instructions and practices requiring some interpretation. May make recommendations for solving problems of moderate complexity and importance.
  • Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are varied, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation using direct observation, knowledge, and skills based on general precedents.
  • Independence of Action: Ability to set goals and determine how to accomplish defined results with some guidelines. Manager/Director provides broad guidance and overall direction.
  • Written Communications: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.
  • Oral Communications: Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families, and external customers.
  • Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of concepts, practices, and policies with the ability to use them in complex varied situations.
  • Team Work: Ability to act as a team leader for projects or work groups, creating a collaborative and respectful team environment and improving workflows. Results may impact the operations of one or more departments.
  • Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service to colleagues and patients and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem-solving.

Physical Requirements

• Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently.
• Job is physical in nature and requires frequent walking, standing, bending (neck and waist), twisting (neck and waist), power grasping using both hands, fine manipulation using both hands, pushing/pulling using both hands, keyboard use, and reaching (above and below shoulder height).
• Lifting and carrying items weighing up to 10 lbs frequently; occasional lifting and carrying of items weighing up to 25 lbs.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $34.20 - $73.39 per hour. The actual compensation is determined based on several factors, including seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law. Compensation may exceed the base hourly rate depending on shift differentials, call pay, premium pay, overtime pay, and other additional pay practices, as applicable to the position and in accordance with the law.