Palliative Care Nurse - Community Based

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Presents a Professional Image
• Conducts visit in a professional, courteous manner, projecting warmth during interactions with patient & family.
• Engages in purposeful conversation using appropriate body language and active listening skills.
• Utilizes critical thinking skills and nursing process to holistically assess patient and family, develop and implement a plan of care that aligns with patient’s goals, including utilization of IDT resources.
• Educate family/caregiver(s) regarding plan of care, interventions, diagnosis and prognosis, medications, use, administration and side effects, how to provide care, use of equipment and supplies and how to contact Alive for assistance.
• Completes documentation of patient visit same day and documenting accurate reflection of patient’s care; updates plan of care same day or more timely if indicated.
• Create a lasting impression
• Concludes patient visit by providing encouragement to patient and caregiver(s), ensuring use of emergency phone number (Call Center Number) and anticipatory needs prior to next visit have been met. Engages in active listening and expresses gratitude before leaving home.
• Complete post visit follow-up
• Concludes entire encounter according to Alive CARE visit standard: follow up messages to team members as needed, synchronize iPad, and spiritual release of the visit.

Communication & Collaboration

• Demonstrates effective communication skills and acts a liaison between Alive and the patient’s primary geriatric - palliative provider or other medical providers involved in the patient’s care.
• Communicates and collaborates with providers, medical directors, outside facilities and other health care providers regarding patient assessment and response to plan of care.
• Notifies appropriate staff of status changes per Alive procedure and collaborates with team members to assure appropriate, empathetic and effective patient/care giver support and care.
• Reports unusual and problematic patient/care giver issues to appropriate supervisor, and other IDT members as appropriate.

Education and/or Experience

• Current nursing license (Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse), BSN preferred.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn serious illness care including hospice and palliative care.
• Minimum one-year nursing practice or equivalent experience required.
• Hospice, Palliative Care, Geriatrics, Medical Surgical, or Home Health and/or long-term care preferred.