Registered Nurse - Surgical Coordinator Outpatient Surgery Clinics

About the role

The Registered Nurse will provide comprehensive and professional preparation of patients prior to surgical and/or medical procedures to include patients scheduled to receive sedation and anesthesia care in the outpatient clinic setting. The Registered Nurse will provide clinical support for procedures within the outpatient surgery clinics, while facilitating the smooth and effective operation of daily clinic activities.

Responsibilities

• Focus on individual growth and development in practice with increased levels of self-direction.
• Responsive to patient and provider requests and ensure customer satisfaction which reflects an understanding of surgical procedures.
• Integral part of the interdisciplinary team to facilitate appropriate patient assessments preoperatively.
• This includes coordination of anesthesia evaluations, validation of testing as ordered by the surgeon and adjunct providers, transportation assistance, lodging arrangements, identifying potential roadblocks to scheduling patients for procedures and alerting the surgeon and operative staff, assisting patients in planning for discharge care, preoperative instructions for transport to and from the procedure and specific individualized physical preparation needed prior to surgery.
• Act as the patient advocate and answer patient inquiries and resolve patient concerns.
• Collaborate with specialty clinic coordinators, Operating Room (OR) staff, anesthesia providers, and adjunct providers as needed to ensure complete preparation for the surgical patient.
• Responsible for maintaining metrics related to clinic performance goals and objectives and participate in continuous quality improvement projects.
• Make caring for the Veteran their priority while in the work setting and demonstrate customer service principles in all aspects of work.
• Practice with the guidelines of the policies, standard operating procedures (SOP), and standards of care relative to the continuity of care for pre-operative surgical candidates.
• Delegate elements of care to the appropriate individual based upon assessed needs, condition, and safety of the patient.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirements:
• English Language Proficiency.
• Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); OR Individuals attending a master's level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelor's level degree in Nursing may have opportunity to become registered as a nurse with a state licensing board prior to completion of the bridge program. Upon achievement of a State license, the individual may be appointed on temporary basis and later converted to a permanent appointment upon successful completion and graduation from the bridge program. (Reference VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G6); OR In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of a current, full, active, and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement for graduation from an approved school of professional nursing to warrant an appointment as a Nurse who has completed an associated degree/entry level Nursing education program. Credit for foreign nursing education higher that associate degree/entry level requires a formal degree equivalency validation from a recognized equivalency evaluation accepted by VA such as International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
• Current, full, active, and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Graduate Nurse Technician (GNT) Exception: Candidates who otherwise meet the basic education requirements, but do not possess the required licensure, may be appointed at the entry step of the grade and level applicable to the completed nursing education as a GNT on a 120-day temporary appointment while actively pursuing licensure (may be extended up to two years on a case-by-case-basis.)
• Preferred Experience: Critical Care, ER or Medical Surgical experience preferred. Must have experience in OR, Perioperative, or surgical coordinator experience with a minimum of 2 years nursing experience.