Nurse Navigator - Orthopedics (Medical Center)

About the role

At Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group, the Nurse Navigator position serves as an expert population-specific clinician, patient/client advocate, and assists patients/families in navigating the complex healthcare system in an organized, effective, and efficient manner. This role helps standardize and improve care for patients across the service line throughout the continuum of care. The Nurse Navigator models patient-centered care and assumes leadership responsibilities with high-level contributions in direct patient interaction, the department, the service line, and across the institution. Responsibilities may include leading survivorship activities, participating in nursing initiatives such as Pathway to Excellence/Magnet, assessing service line needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, coordinating program education, and serving as a clinical resource for both program and hospital staff.

Responsibilities

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develop strong relationships with physicians, their office staff, and healthcare providers to ensure effective communication in patient care.
• Serve as a liaison between ancillary departments, clinical specialists, physicians, and patients to ensure efficient patient flow for service line patients.
• Act as a clinical resource for complex and/or highly specialized patient care situations to patient care providers and other healthcare professionals within the hospital and in the community, as appropriate.
• Build and maintain relationships with community organizations, interprofessional departments, and outside medical service agencies to help coordinate support services for patients.
• Partner with Business Development staff to coordinate relationships with external/referring physicians for the program, as appropriate.
• Contribute toward improvement of department scores for employee engagement, including peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Coordinate all aspects of patient care and development related to the service line.
• Facilitate entry of patients into the program and assist with coordination of care through personalized interaction.
• Follow the population-specific patient throughout the postoperative phase of care, continuum of care, and/or into survivorship, as applicable.
• Advocate for patients and caregivers in preventing/resolving clinical or ethical issues; develop supportive department/unit practices and guidelines.
• Educate the patient and caregiver on disease-specific guidelines and surgical and non-surgical treatment options to enable patient-led treatment decisions.
• Develop/update informational/educational resources and programs related to program services and/or plan of care in partnership with the patient and caregiver; mentor others regarding specialty populations; audit plan of care.
• Teach nursing care principles with advanced technical knowledge and provide formal education to groups outside the department as needed.
• Educate and/or facilitate patient and caregiver on introduction to program, clinical trial information, resource referrals, and genetic counseling as appropriate.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Foster successful outcomes and survivorship by developing treatment summaries, providing education to patients and caregivers on follow-up schedules, and communicating with the healthcare team.
• Assist with maintaining follow-up schedules and address acute complications, late, and long-term effects through continual needs assessments.
• Implement risk assessments and monitor healthcare pathways with interprofessional teams, intervening when necessary to improve timeliness of care.
• Actively participate in performance improvement and shared governance activities by identifying, recommending, and leading improvements in patient safety-related processes at the unit or service line level.
• Ensure appropriate data is collected and submitted to relevant databases for supported service lines.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participate in decisions impacting operational and capital needs.
• Contribute to oversight of grant funding for community outreach initiatives as appropriate.
• Make referrals to financial navigators/business office financial counselors to assist patients needing financial support.
• Utilize resources with cost-effectiveness and value creation in mind.
• Self-motivate to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participate in identifying needs, planning, and implementing educational programs within the service line for healthcare providers, patients, families, and/or community groups.
• Develop, facilitate, and participate with others in the development and presentation of healthcare provider and community educational programs in the service line.
• Maintain personal professional development through organization membership.
• Read and lead critique of evidence-based practice literature in nursing and related disciplines.
• Publish evidence-based research findings and/or present findings at a national meeting.
• Attend/participate in continuing education activities to ensure current knowledge in the practicing specialty.
• Seek opportunities to identify self-development needs and take appropriate action.
• Ensure own career discussions occur with appropriate management and complete and update the My Development Plan on an ongoing basis.

Qualifications

Education

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

Experience

• Three years of clinical nursing experience.
• Leadership or Coordinator experience preferred.

Licenses and Certifications

• 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).
• BLS – Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) – American Heart Association.
• Magnet ANCC-recognized certification (HM) or Oncology Nursing Society recognized certification.

Preferred

• Magnet – ANCC Case Management Recognized Certification.
• ACM – Accredited Case Manager (NBCM, ACMA).

Knowledge 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 English to perform essential functions, especially regarding activities impacting patient or employee safety or security.
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members, and coworkers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles.
• Demonstrates highly developed assessment, clinical, documentation, and analytical skills.
• Strong psychosocial assessment and clinical skills.
• Possesses knowledge of healthcare financial and payer issues and eligibility for state, local, and federal programs.
• Embodies the behaviors associated with the Leadership, Art and Science of Nursing at the Proficient level according to Benner’s model of clinical practice.
• Displays professionalism, remains composed under stress, and takes responsibility for delivering on personal and organizational commitments.
• Ability to work independently; possesses organization, time management, and prioritization skills.

Supplemental Requirements

• Work Attire: Uniform: No; Scrubs: Yes; Business professional: Yes; Other (department approved): No.
• On-Call: Yes (employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies regardless of selection).
• Travel: May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area; may require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area: No.