Outpatient RN

General Purpose of Job

The staff nurse is a professional Registered Nurse (RN) who provides direct nursing care to an assigned patient population, service line or clinic department. The staff nurse practices within the established standards of practice, ethical guidelines, policies and guidelines reflective of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and their specialty service line.

Essential functions and behavioral expectations

• Collects pertinent data through initial and ongoing focused assessments to analyze the patient's condition and follows through with appropriate reporting and actions.
• Conducts comprehensive assessments of patients' physical, psychosocial, and emotional needs.
• Utilizes appropriate tools to gather relevant data to inform patient care decisions.
• Analyzes assessment data to determine actual or potential diagnoses, problems, and issues.
• Verifies the diagnoses, problems, and issues with the healthcare consumer and interprofessional colleagues.
• Identifies expected outcomes for a plan individualized to the patient or situation.
• Collaborates with the patient/family to define outcomes integrating culture, values, and ethical considerations.
• Works collaboratively with other healthcare team members which may include other RNs, Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners (NP), Physician Assistants (PA), Physicians and Medical/Nursing Assistants and administrative support staff to address patient needs promptly.
• Develops, prioritizes, implements, and modifies an individualized evidence-based plan of care in partnership with the person, family and healthcare team.
• Contributes to creating an environment that is patient focused, family centered and is designed to provide continuation of care and patient transition management.
• Advocates for compassion, responsibility, and appropriate use of interventions.
• Administers medications and therapeutic treatments using appropriate devices per clinical guidelines and orders.
• Recognizes and intervenes to address abnormal responses to medication therapy and initiates corrective therapy.
• Escalates patient care concerns or changing status until resolution is achieved.
• Initiates appropriate referrals to the healthcare team based on assessed patient needs.
• Communicates with the patient/family, interprofessional team, and community-based resources for safe transitions in continuity of care.
• Ensures continuity of care by communicating effectively with patients, families, and healthcare providers.
• Performs phone triage, manages prescription renewals, and coordinates follow-up appointments and care plans tailored to patients’ needs if working in an ambulatory setting.
• Identifies barriers to learning, develops and implements education plan based on assessed patient/family needs that reflects the patient/family values, beliefs, developmental level, learning needs, readiness and ability to learn, language preference, spirituality, culture and socioeconomic status.
• Uses health promotion and teaching methods, including technologies to communicate health promotion and disease prevention.
• Evaluates and reports pertinent patient response to interventions based on evidence-based best practice.
• Evaluates progress toward attainment of expected outcomes and revises plan as necessary.

Standards of Nursing Practice

• Assesses patients' physical, psychosocial, and emotional needs.
• Analyzes assessment data to determine actual or potential diagnoses, problems, and issues.
• Verifies the diagnoses, problems, and issues with the healthcare consumer and interprofessional colleagues.
• Identifies expected outcomes for a plan individualized to the patient or situation.
• Collaborates with the patient/family to define outcomes integrating culture, values, and ethical considerations.
• Works collaboratively with other healthcare team members which may include other RNs, Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners (NP), Physician Assistants (PA), Physicians and Medical/Nursing Assistants and administrative support staff to address patient needs promptly.
• Develops, prioritizes, implements, and modifies an individualized evidence-based plan of care in partnership with the person, family and healthcare team.
• Contributes to creating an environment that is patient focused, family centered and is designed to provide continuation of care and patient transition management.
• Advocates for compassion, responsibility, and appropriate use of interventions.
• Administers medications and therapeutic treatments using appropriate devices per clinical guidelines and orders.
• Recognizes and intervenes to address abnormal responses to medication therapy and initiates corrective therapy.
• Escalates patient care concerns or changing status until resolution is achieved.
• Initiates appropriate referrals to the healthcare team based on assessed patient needs.
• Communicates with the patient/family, interprofessional team, and community-based resources for safe transitions in continuity of care.
• Ensures continuity of care by communicating effectively with patients, families, and healthcare providers.
• Performs phone triage, manages prescription renewals, and coordinates follow-up appointments and care plans tailored to patients’ needs if working in an ambulatory setting.
• Identifies barriers to learning, develops and implements education plan based on assessed patient/family needs that reflects the patient/family values, beliefs, developmental level, learning needs, readiness and ability to learn, language preference, spirituality, culture and socioeconomic status.
• Uses health promotion and teaching methods, including technologies to communicate health promotion and disease prevention.
• Evaluates and reports pertinent patient response to interventions based on evidence-based best practice.
• Evaluates progress toward attainment of expected outcomes and revises plan as necessary.